In-situ boron doped pdc element

Abstract

A polycrystalline diamond compact formed in an in-situ boron-doped process. The in-situ boron-doped process includes consolidating a mixture of diamond crystals and boron-containing alloy via liquid diffusion of boron into diamond crystals at a pressure greater than 5 Gpa and at a temperature greater than the melting temperature of the boron-containing alloy, typically less than about 1450° C.

1 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A polycrystalline diamond compact, comprising:
 a layer of polycrystalline diamond integrally formed in a high-temperature, high-pressure process, the layer comprising a generally uniform mixture comprising:
 polycrystalline diamond material comprising boron-doped diamond crystals; and 
 at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys. 
   
     
     
         23 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the polycrystalline diamond material comprises synthetic diamond and wherein the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys has a melting temperature less than about 1200° C. 
     
     
         24 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys has a minimum melting temperature of 1000° C. 
     
     
         25 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 24  wherein the mixture has a melting temperature below about 1100°. 
     
     
         26 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 25  wherein the melting temperature is greater than 1000° C. and less than 1200° C. 
     
     
         27 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the boron-doped diamond crystals are manufactured by chemical vapor deposition and HP/HT processes, and further comprise natural diamonds comprising a source material. 
     
     
         28 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys has a melting temperature below about 1200° C. 
     
     
         29 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the polycrystalline diamond material has a particle size between 8 μm and 10 μm. 
     
     
         30 . The polycrystalline diamond compact of  claim 22  wherein the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys form at least a portion of a boron-containing alloy. 
     
     
         31 . An earth boring drill bit, comprising:
 at least one polycrystalline diamond cutting element comprising:
 a layer of polycrystalline diamond integrally formed in a high-temperature, high-pressure process, the layer comprising a generally uniform mixture comprising:
 polycrystalline diamond material comprising boron-doped diamond crystals; and 
 at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys. 
 
   
     
     
         32 . A method for making an in-situ boron-doped polycrystalline diamond compact, comprising:
 integrally forming a layer of polycrystalline diamond by consolidating in a high-temperature, high-pressure in-situ boron-doped process a generally uniform mixture comprising:
 polycrystalline diamond material comprising boron-doped diamond crystals; and 
 at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys. 
   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising converting the polycrystalline diamond material from graphite at a pressure of greater than 5.5 Gpa. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising heating the mixture at a melting temperature of the between about 960° C. to 1200° C. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising affecting crystallinity of the polycrystalline diamond layer by suppressing sp2 carbon formation of the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 32  further comprising consolidating a mass of the polycrystalline diamond material by boron-doping the at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys in-situ. 
     
     
         37 . A polycrystalline diamond compact, comprising:
 a layer of polycrystalline diamond integrally formed in a high-temperature, high-pressure process, the layer comprising a generally uniform mixture comprising:
 polycrystalline diamond material comprising diamond crystals; and 
 a boron-containing alloy comprising at least one of Ni, Co and Fe-base alloys.