Patent ID: 8034136

Claim:
A method of fabricating a superabrasive article, comprising: in a high-pressure/high-temperature process, infiltrating a mass of unsintered diamond particles with metal-solvent catalyst from a metal-solvent-catalyst-containing material to promote formation of a sintered body of diamond grains including interstitial regions; during the high-pressure/high-temperature process, infiltrating at least a portion of the interstitial regions of the sintered body with silicon from a silicon-containing material; during the high-pressure/high-temperature process, reacting the silicon with the sintered body to form silicon carbide within the at least a portion of the interstitial regions; prior to the act of infiltrating the mass of unsintered diamond particles with the metal-solvent catalyst from the metal-solvent-catalyst-containing material: positioning the metal-solvent-catalyst-containing material between the mass of unsintered diamond particles and the silicon-containing material; and positioning the silicon-containing material between the metal-solvent-catalyst-containing material and a substrate.