Structure of diamond-silicon carbide nanocomposites as a function of sintering temperature at 8 GPa

Nanosize diamond-silicon carbide composites have been sintered at high temperatures and a fixed pressure of about 8 GPa. Crystallite size, densities of stacking faults and dislocations in diamond and silicon carbide crystallites are determined by X-ray diffraction profile analysis. It has been shown that crystallite, sizes increase while population of stacking faults and dislocations decrease with temperature increasing from 1820 degrees C to 2320 degrees C. These conclusions indicate that to produce composites with small residual stresses the sintering process should be conducted at the highest possible temperatures. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.