Formation of the structure of polycrystalline super-hard materials sintered from diamonds ASM 5 - 3 was studied by methods of metallography, micro X-ray spectral analysis and electron paramagnetic resonance. It was shown that heating of polycrystalline super-hard materials and holding them under pressure (thermobaric treatment) cause migration of Ni and Mn. The following three mechanisms of transport of mechanical inclusions into polycrystalline super-hard materials were proposed: 1) out-cropping of Ni and Mn to the surface of grains and subsequent movement into intergranular spaces; 2) transfer of metal phase into polycrystalline super-hard materials relating to recrystallization; 3) diffusion across grain boundaries.

Migration of Mn and Ni in Diamond-Base Crystals in the Course of Sintering and Heat-Treatment. Gerasimenko, K.A., Delevu, V.G., Tikhonenko, K.A., Shulman, L.A., Bagno, N.G., Cherepina, Y.S.: Sverkhtverdye Materialy, 1991, 2, 12-6