Micron diamond composites with nanocrystalline silicon carbide bonding

J. Qian, T. W. Zerda, D. He, L. Daemen, Y. Zhao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Diamond composites with nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide bonding were sintered from diamond/amorphous silicon mixtures under high pressure and high temperature (p = 5 GPa and temperatures up to 1673 K). Differential scanning calorimetry, ex situ x-ray, and Raman spectroscopy investigations showed that amorphous silicon partially transformed into nanocrystalline silicon at 873 K under 5 GPa. This was followed by the formation of nanocrystalline silicon carbide from the reaction between the silicon and diamond after silicon melting. Refinement of the x-ray diffraction patterns of composites with the Rietveld method revealed that considerable microstrain (0.3-0.5%) remained within the nanocrystalline silicon carbide grains. Small strain (0.1-0.2%) was observed in the compacted diamonds, but after the reaction they became almost strain free (<0.1%). Enhanced fracture toughness was obtained for hybrid composites compared to liquid-infiltrated composites.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1173-1178
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Materials Research
Volume18
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2003
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36. The authors would like to thank Baesheng Li at the Mineral Physics Institute of State University of New York at Stony Brook for the help in the ultrasonic interferometer measurement.

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