Methods of fabricating a polycrystalline diamond compact
Embodiments relate to PDCs, methods of fabricating PDCs, and applications for such PDCs. In an embodiment, a PDC includes a substrate and a pre-sintered PCD table including an interfacial surface that is bonded to the substrate. The pre-sintered PCD table may be substantially free of leaching by-products in a region at least proximate to the interfacial surface. In an embodiment, a method of fabricating a PDC includes providing an at least partially leached PCD including an interfacial surface. The method includes removing at least some leaching by-products from the at least partially leached PCD table. After removing the at least some leaching by-products, the method includes bonding the interfacial surface of the at least partially leached PCD table to a substrate to form a PDC.
1. A method, comprising:
providing an at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body including leaching by-products;
cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to remove at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body;
after cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body,
assembling the least at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with an infiltrant to form an assembly;
subjecting the assembly to a high-temperature/high-pressure process, at a temperature of at least about 1000° C. and a pressure of at least about 4 GPa, to infiltrate the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with the infiltrant; and
leaching a portion of the infiltrant from the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to remove at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body includes subjecting the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to a non-ambient pressure and an elevated temperature effective to remove the at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the non-ambient pressure is a pressure less than ambient pressure.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the elevated temperature is at least about 600° C.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein subjecting the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to a non-ambient pressure and an elevated temperature effective to remove the at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body includes heating the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body under partial vacuum conditions.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the temperature is about 1300° C. to about 1600° C. and the pressure is about 5 GPa to about 8 GPa.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing at least some leaching by-products generated during the leaching the portion of the infiltrant.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the infiltrant includes at least one of iron, cobalt, or nickel.
9. A method, comprising:
providing an at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body including leaching by-products;
cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to remove at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body;
after cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body,
assembling the least at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with a substrate including an infiltrant to form an assembly;
subjecting the assembly to a high-temperature/high-pressure process, at a pressure of about 5 GPa or less, to infiltrate the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with the infiltrant and bond the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body to the substrate; and
leaching a portion of the infiltrant from the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body to which the substrate is bonded.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to remove at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body includes subjecting the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to a non-ambient pressure and an elevated temperature effective to remove the at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the non-ambient pressure is a partial vacuum.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein the elevated temperature is at least about 600° C.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein the pressure is about 4 GPa to about 5 GPa.
14. The method of claim 9 wherein the infiltrant includes at least one of iron, cobalt, or nickel.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
forming a polycrystalline diamond body in a high-pressure/high-temperature sintering process; and
at least partially leaching the polycrystalline diamond body of catalyst to form the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body.
16. A method, comprising:
providing an at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body that is substantially free of leaching by-products generated during leaching of a polycrystalline diamond body from which the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body is formed;
assembling the least at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with a substrate including an infiltrant to form an assembly; and
subjecting the assembly to a high-temperature/high-pressure process, at a pressure of at least about 4 GPa, to infiltrate the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body with the infiltrant and bond the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body to the substrate.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising leaching a portion of the infiltrant from the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body to which the substrate is bonded.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein leaching a portion of the infiltrant from the infiltrated polycrystalline diamond body to which the substrate is bonded includes leaching the infiltrant to a selected leach depth of about 50 μm to about 500 μm.
19. The method of claim 16 wherein the leaching by-products include at least one of an oxide or a salt.
20. The method of claim 16 wherein the high-temperature/high-pressure process is performed at the pressure of about 5 GPa to about 8 GPa and a temperature of about 1300° C. to about 1600° C.
21. The method of claim 16 wherein the infiltrant includes at least one of iron, cobalt, or nickel.
22. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
forming a polycrystalline diamond body in a high-pressure/high-temperature sintering process;
at least partially leaching the polycrystalline diamond body of catalyst to form the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body including leaching by-products; and
cleaning the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body to remove at least some of the leaching by-products from the at least partially leached polycrystalline diamond body.