Assemblies and methods of forming polycrystalline diamond using such assemblies

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to assemblies for forming polycrystalline diamond compacts and methods for forming the polycrystalline diamond compacts with the assemblies. An example assembly includes a substrate and a diamond material positioned adjacent to an interfacial surface of the substrate. The assembly also includes an enclosure defining a chamber. The substrate and the diamond material are disposed in the chamber. In an embodiment, the assembly includes a sealant and the sealant includes at least one of cobalt or a copper-nickel alloy. In an embodiment, the substrate includes a concave bottom surface that is opposite the interfacial surface.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 disposing a substrate and a diamond material in a chamber defined by an enclosure; wherein:
 the substrate includes an interfacial surface, a bottom surface opposite the interfacial surface, and at least one lateral surface extending at least partially between the interfacial surface and the bottom surface, the diamond material positioned at least proximate to the interfacial surface; and 
 the enclosure defines an opening; 
   disposing a sealant adjacent to the opening, the sealant configured to form or forming a binary alloy including a group of 8 element and a group 11 element, wherein the substrate, the diamond material, the enclosure, and the sealant at least partially form an assembly;   applying an inert environment to at least the chamber;   heating the assembly to a degassing temperature effective to at least partially remove absorbed gases from the diamond material; and   melting the sealant such that the sealant seals the chamber.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sealant includes cobalt and the enclosure includes at least one of niobium or tantalum. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sealant includes a nickel alloy. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sealant includes a copper-nickel alloy. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the copper-nickel alloy includes about 40 weight % to about 90 weight % of copper. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond material includes a mass of diamond particles or a preformed polycrystalline diamond table. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the diamond material includes a mass of diamond particles exhibiting an average grain size of about 30 or less. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the group 11 element includes copper, silver, or gold. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after allowing the assembly to cool, subjecting the assembly to an HPHT sintering process to form a polycrystalline diamond compact, the HPHT sintering process including heating the assembly to a temperature of at least 1000° C. and a pressure of at least about 7.5 GPa, wherein the bottom surface of the substrate is concave. 
     
     
         10 . A method, comprising:
 disposing a substrate and a diamond material in a chamber defined by an enclosure, wherein:
 the substrate includes an interfacial surface, a concave bottom surface opposite the interfacial surface, and at least one lateral surface extending at least partially between the interfacial surface and the bottom surface, the diamond material positioned at least proximate to the interfacial surface; and 
 the enclosure defines an opening. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a maximum width of the substrate is at least 1.5 times greater than a maximum length of the substrate measured from the interfacial surface to the bottom surface. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the substrate exhibits a first length and a second length measured from the interfacial surface to the bottom surface and parallel to each other, the first length measured closer to the at least one lateral surface of the substrate than the second length, wherein the first length is greater than the second length by about 100 μm or more. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 disposing a sealant adjacent to the opening of the enclosure;   applying a vacuum to at least the chamber;   heating to a first temperature to remove absorbed gases from the diamond material; and   melting the sealant such that the sealant seals the chamber from an exterior.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising subjecting the enclosure to an HPHT sintering process to form a polycrystalline diamond compact, the HPHT sintering process including heating to a temperature of at least 1000° C. and a pressure of at least about 7.5 GPa. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising, after subjecting the enclosure to the HPHT sintering process, removing the polycrystalline diamond compact from the enclosure. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 providing a substrate including an interfacial surface, a concave bottom surface positioned opposite the interfacial surface at a rearmost portion of the substrate, and at least one lateral surface extending at least partially between the interfacial surface and the bottom surface; and   positioning a diamond material adjacent to the interfacial surface of the substrate and opposing the concave bottom surface, the diamond material including diamond particles.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein providing the substrate further comprises providing the substrate with a maximum width that is at least 1.5 times greater than a maximum length of the substrate. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein providing the substrate further comprises providing the substrate with a maximum width that is at least 2 times greater than a maximum length of the substrate. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 providing an enclosure defining a chamber and an opening; and   disposing the substrate and the diamond material in the chamber.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising positioning a sealant at least proximate to the opening of the enclosure, the sealant configured to form a binary alloy including a group 8 element or an iron group element and a group 11 element after being subjected to a heating process.