Fracture behavior of HPHT synthetic diamond with micrometers metallic inclusions

Abstract

The fracture behavior of the diamond single crystals with metallic inclusions was investigated in the present paper. Single diamond crystals with metallic inclusions were formed by a special process with high pressure and high temperature (HPHT). The inclusions trapped in the diamond were characterized mainly to be metallic carbide of (Fe,Ni)₂₃C₆ or Fe₃C and solid solution of γ-(Fe,Ni) by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). The grain size of the inclusions is about micrometers. The fracture characteristics of the diamond single crystals, after compression and heating, were investigated by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fracture sections of the compressed and heated diamonds were found to be parallel to the (111) plane. The interface of the inclusions and diamond is deduced to be the key factor and the original region of the fracture formation. Mechanisms of the fracture behavior of the HPHT synthesized diamonds are discussed.

Keywords

synthetic diamond / metallic inclusions / fracture / microstructure

References

[1] Ferro S. Synthesis of diamond. Journal of Material Chemistry, 2002, 12: 2843-2855

[2] Queisser H J. Modern Crystallograph . Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1984

[3] Huggins C M, Cannon P. Diamond containing controllable impurity concentration. Nature, 1962, 120: 829-830

[4] Pavel E. The nature of the metallic inclusions in synthetic diamond crystals synthesized at ~5.5 GPa in Fe-C system. Solid State Communications, 1990, 76(4): 531-533

[5] Kaneko J, Yonezawa C, Kasugai Y, . Determination of metallic impurities in high-purity type a diamond grown by high-pressure and high-temperature synthesis using neutron activation analysis. Diamond and Related Materials, 2000, 9: 2019-2023

[6] Kupriyanov I N, Gusev V A, Borzdo Y M, . Photoluminescence study of annealed nickel- and nitrogen- containing synthetic diamond. Diamond and Related Materials, 1999, 8: 1301-1309

[7] Kanda H, Watanabe K. Distribution of nickel related luminescence centers in HPHT diamond. Diamond and Related Materials, 1999, 8: 1463-1469

[8] Jia X, Hayakawa S, Li W, . Cobalt impurities in synthetic diamond. Diamond and Related Materials, 1999, 8: 1895-1899

[9] Shimomura S, Kanda H, Nakezawa H. Observation of micro-inclusions in diamond by scanning X-ray analytical microscope. Diamond and Related Materials, 1997, 6: 1680-1682

[10] Isoya J, Kanda H, Norris J R, . Fourier-transform and continuous-wave EPR studies of nickel in synthetic diamond: Site and spin multiplicity. Physics Review B, 1990, 41: 3905-3913

[11] Collins A T. Spectroscopy of defects and transition metals in diamond. Diamond and Related Materials, 2000, 9: 417-423

[12] Langenhorst F, Poirier J P, Frost D J. TEM observations of microscopic inclusions in synthetic diamond. Journal of Materials Science, 2004, 39: 1865-1867

[13] Yin L W, Zou Z D, Li M S, . Some inclusions and defects in a synthetic diamond single crystal. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2000, 218: 455-458

[14] Giardini A A, Tyding J E. Diamond synthesis: observations on the mechanism of formation. American Mineralogist, 1962, 47: 1393-1399

[15] Yin L W, Li M S, Sun D S, . Transmission electron microscopic study of some inclusions in synthetic diamond crystals. Materials Letters, 2001, 48: 21-25

[16] Liu Y X, Xiao L M, Yin L W. Entrapment of inclusions in diamond crystals grown from Fe-Ni-C system. Journal of Materials Science and Technology, 2002, 18(2): 171-172

[17] Zhang Y F, Zhang F Q, Chen G H. A study of the pressure-temperature conditions for diamond growth. Journal of Materials Research, 1994, 9: 2845-2849

[18] Yin L W, Li M S, Gong Z G, . Analysis of nanometer inclusions in high pressure synthesized diamond single crystals. Chemical Physics Letters, 2002, 355: 490-496

[19] Shterenberg L E, Slesarev V N, Korsunskaya I A, . The experimental study of the interaction between the melt, carbides and diamond in the iron-carbon system at high pressure. High Temperatures High Pressures, 1975, 7: 517-522

[20] Watson J H P, Li Z, Hyde A M. Compressive strength of synthetic diamond grits containing metallic nanoparticles. Applied Physics Letters, 2000, 77(26): 4330-4331

[21] Xu B, Li M S, Cui J J, . An investigation of a thin metal film covering on HPHT as-grown diamond from Fe-Ni-C system. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 2005, 396: 352-359

[22] Field J E. The Properties of Natural and Synthetic Diamond. London: Academic Press, 1992, 473-514

[23] Li J, Mao H K, Fei Y, . Compression of Fe₃C to 30 GPa at room temperature. Physics Chemical Miner, 2002, 29: 166-169

[24] Strong H M, Hanneman R E. Crystallization of diamond and graphite. Journal of Chemical Physics, 1967, 46(9): 3668-3676

[25] Anthony T R. Stresses generated by impurities in diamond. Diamond and Related Materials, 1995, 4: 1346-1352

[26] Shulshenko A A, Varga L, Hidasi B. Strength and thermal resistance of synthetic diamonds. International Journal Refractory Metal and Hard Materials, 1992, 11(5): 285-294

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg