Patent ID: 8741006

Claim:
An ultra-hard construction prepared by the method comprising the steps of: treating a material microstructure comprising a polycrystalline matrix first phase material and a second phase material from a partial region of the material microstructure, wherein the second phase material is disposed within interstitial regions of the material microstructure, and wherein removal of the second phase material creates a porous material microstructure characterized by a plurality of empty voids; replacing the removed second phase material with a replacement material having a thermal characteristic that more closely matches the polycrystalline matrix first phase than that of the second phase material; wherein the partial region extends a depth from a working surface of the material microstructure wherein the replacement material is a composite mixture comprising a non-refractory metal and at least one selected from the group consisting of ceramics, diamond, cubic boron nitride, polycrystalline diamond, and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride.