JP2626203B2 - Manufacturing method of electrophotographic photoreceptor - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which a photosensitive layer is formed on the surface of a photoreceptor substrate by glow discharge or the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive substrate, methods such as a glow discharge decomposition method, a sputtering method, and a vacuum deposition method are known.
In particular, the glow discharge decomposition method is often used.

However, when the photosensitive layer is formed on the photoreceptor by the glow discharge decomposition method, the fine powder generated by the decomposition of the raw material gas adheres to the deposition surface in the photosensitive layer mound, causing defects in the obtained photosensitive layer. As a result, there is a problem that an image obtained by using an electrophotographic apparatus appears as a white point or a black point.

In addition, since the fine powder generated by the decomposition of the raw material gas adheres / deposits on the counter electrode and the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber, the work time of the fine powder removing operation after the completion of the film formation becomes longer, and the productivity becomes lower. there were.

Conventionally, in order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
Japanese Patent No. 6572 proposes a manufacturing method in which the photosensitive member substrate is kept at the same potential as seen from the counter electrode side, and the length of the photosensitive member substrate extension is substantially the same as that of the counter electrode. Also,
In order to reduce the amount of fine powder adhering / depositing on the electrode, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-193265 discloses a manufacturing apparatus using a wire mesh electrode,
JP-A-61-15973 proposes a method of heating an electrode.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described apparatus in which the length of the photoconductor substrate extension is substantially the same as the length of the counter electrode, the length of the photoconductor substrate is not equal to the length of the counter electrode at the boundary between the discharge region and the non-discharge region. There remains a problem that uniform discharge occurs and generation of fine powder cannot be sufficiently prevented.

Further, it has been difficult to reduce the fine powder over the entire inside of the vacuum layer by the above-described wire mesh electrode or the method of heating the electrode.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of reducing the amount of fine powder inside a reactor.

Another object is to provide a method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor having no defects and excellent in printing durability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has at least a photoconductor substrate support for mounting a photoconductor substrate in a vacuum chamber and a counter electrode provided to face the photoconductor substrate support. A conductive holder which can be attached to and detached from the upper and lower surfaces of the photosensitive substrate is fitted so that the total length l of the substrate and the holder is L + 20 ≦ l (unit: mm) with respect to the total length L of the counter electrode. A method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which a glow discharge is caused between an electrode and a substrate for a photoreceptor to form a photosensitive layer on the substrate. Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a capacitively coupled plasma CV to which the present invention can be applied.
It is an example of a D device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vacuum chamber, in which a cylindrical photoconductor substrate support rotated by a motor 8 and held at a ground potential is provided. Around this photoconductor substrate support, a hollow counter electrode 3 made of a rigid metal provided with a plurality of gas ejection holes is arranged so as to surround the photoconductor support. A high-frequency voltage is applied to this hollow counter electrode from a high-frequency power supply, and the outside thereof is covered with a shield plate 4 made of metal. Outside the hollow counter electrode, a heating means 7 for heating the counter electrode is provided. The heating means may be a heating coil provided on a shield plate, or a heating lamp may be provided near the shield plate. On the other hand, a heating device 6 is provided inside the photoconductor substrate support independently of the heating means. The photosensitive layer to be produced may have a single-layer structure or a laminated structure in which a charge generation layer and a charge transport layer are functionally separated. Furthermore, a layer provided with a charge injection blocking layer and a protective layer may be used.

In particular, the use of a holder in which the entire length of the holder fitted above and below the substrate and projecting in the longitudinal direction of the counter electrode of at least 10 mm from the end of the counter electrode has a remarkable reduction effect on fine powder generation, preferable. Furthermore, since the counter electrode has a hollow cylindrical shape made of a rigid metal having a plurality of gas ejection holes and has a means for heating the counter electrode, it is possible to generate fine powder inside the reactor, particularly the counter electrode and its vicinity. Is preferred in that it can further suppress

In the present invention, when L does not satisfy the expression, at the end of the hollow counter electrode and the end of the glow discharge region on the photoconductor substrate side,
A non-uniform discharge is generated to generate fine powder, which causes defects and adhesion of fine powder to the photosensitive layer.

To manufacture an electrophotographic photoreceptor using the above-described plasma CVD apparatus, a lower holder 1 is provided on the photoreceptor substrate support side.
1. The photosensitive member substrate 12 and the upper holder 13 are sequentially placed, and the total length 1 of the lower holder, the photosensitive member substrate and the upper holder is L + 20 ≦ l with respect to the length L of the hollow counter electrode 3 in the longitudinal direction. (Unit: mm) by fitting each other, applying a high-frequency voltage to the counter electrode, introducing a raw material gas such as a silane or disilane derivative into the vacuum chamber, and decomposing by glow discharge to obtain the substrate for the photoreceptor. A photosensitive layer such as an amorphous silicon film can be formed thereon.

Further, the photoreceptor substrate support is maintained at a ground potential, and a heating device is provided therein. The photosensitive substrate is placed on the photosensitive substrate support, the inside of the vacuum chamber is evacuated, and the temperature of the substrate is raised to a desired value. A glow discharge is caused between the photosensitive member substrate and the hollow counter electrode, and a photosensitive film is deposited and formed on the photosensitive member substrate. Reacted gas and unreacted gas inside the vacuum chamber are removed from the exhaust system 10 by a vacuum pump.

The holder of the present invention only needs to be conductive, and metal or conductive glass can be used.

(Function) In the device of the present invention, the total length L of the photosensitive member substrate of the lower holder and the upper holder is made shorter than the length of the hollow counter electrode 3 in the longitudinal direction, and is set within a predetermined range. Therefore, fine powder generated by non-uniform discharge is not generated.

Example 1 In the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2, a 55 mm lower holder, a 410 mm photoconductor substrate, and a 55 mm upper holder were sequentially mounted on a photoconductor substrate support (l = 520 mm). The length of the opposing electrode in the longitudinal direction was 500 mm (L = 500 mm), and the opposing electrode was arranged such that the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the opposing electrode coincided with the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member substrate. The counter electrode is made of stainless steel and has a diameter
A 3mm hole is staggered over the entire surface.

The pressure inside the vacuum chamber is reduced to about 1 Torr, and the photosensitive substrate and the counter electrode are heated to 250 ° C. and 200 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. After the temperature became constant, high-vacuum evacuation was performed, and a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer, and a surface layer were sequentially deposited under the film forming conditions shown in Table 1.

Fine powder was deposited inside the vacuum chamber after the film formation, and the total amount of the deposited fine powder sampled at several locations inside the vacuum layer was as shown in Table 2.

The photoconductor on which the film was formed was mounted on a Carlson type copier to copy the entire black image.
Table 3 shows the number of white spots in the area of 7 mm × 364 mm.

Example 2 A 60 mm lower holder, a 410 mm photoconductor substrate, and a 60 mm upper holder were sequentially mounted on a photoconductor substrate support in the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2 (l = 530 mm). The length of the opposing electrode in the longitudinal direction was 500 mm (L = 500 mm), and the opposing electrode was arranged such that the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the opposing electrode coincided with the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member substrate. The counter electrode is made of stainless steel and has a diameter
A 3mm hole is staggered over the entire surface.

The pressure inside the vacuum chamber is reduced to about 1 Torr, and the photosensitive substrate is heated to 250 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. At this time, the counter electrode was not heated. After the temperature of the photoconductor substrate becomes constant,
After performing high vacuum evacuation, the charge injection blocking tank, the photoconductive layer, and the surface layer were sequentially deposited under the film forming conditions shown in Table 1.

Fine powder was deposited inside the vacuum chamber after film formation, and the total amount of the deposited fine powder sampled at several points inside the vacuum chamber was as shown in Table 2.

The photoconductor on which the film was formed was mounted on a Carlson type copier to copy the entire black image.
Table 3 shows the number of white spots in the area of 7 mm × 364 mm.

Example 3 A 65 mm lower holder, a 410 mm photoconductor substrate, and a 65 mm upper holder were sequentially mounted on a photoconductor substrate support in the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 4 (l = 540 mm). The length of the opposing electrode in the longitudinal direction was 500 mm (L = 500 mm), and the opposing electrode was arranged such that the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the opposing electrode coincided with the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member substrate. The counter electrode is made of stainless steel and has a diameter
In this case, 3 mm holes are provided in a row in the longitudinal direction of the electrode at intervals of 5 mm.

The pressure inside the vacuum chamber is reduced to about 1 Torr, and the photosensitive substrate and the counter electrode are heated to 250 ° C. and 200 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. After the temperature became constant, high-vacuum evacuation was performed to sequentially deposit a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer, and a surface layer under the film forming conditions shown in Table 1.

Fine powder was deposited inside the vacuum chamber after film formation, and the total amount of the deposited fine powder sampled at several points inside the vacuum chamber was as shown in Table 2.

The photoconductor on which the film was formed was mounted on a Carlson type copier to copy the entire black image.
Table 3 shows the number of white spots in the area of 7 mm × 364 mm.

Comparative Example 1 In the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 5, a 55 mm lower holder, a 410 mm photoconductor substrate, and a 45 mm upper holder were sequentially mounted on a photoconductor substrate support (l = 510 mm). The length of the opposing electrode in the longitudinal direction was 500 mm (L = 500 mm), and the opposing electrode was arranged such that the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the opposing electrode coincided with the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member substrate. The counter electrode is made of stainless steel and has a diameter
In this case, 3 mm holes are provided in a row in the longitudinal direction of the electrode at intervals of 5 mm.

The pressure inside the vacuum chamber is reduced to about 1 Torr, and the photosensitive substrate is heated to 250 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. The counter electrode was not heated. After the temperature of the photoreceptor substrate became constant, high-vacuum evacuation was performed to sequentially deposit a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer, and a surface layer under the film forming conditions shown in Table 1.

Fine powder was deposited inside the vacuum chamber after film formation, and the total amount of the deposited fine powder sampled at several points inside the vacuum chamber was as shown in Table 2.

The photoconductor on which the film was formed was mounted on a Carlson type copier to copy the entire black image.
Table 3 shows the number of white spots in the area of 7 mm × 364 mm.

Comparative Example 2 A 55 mm lower holder, a 410 mm photoreceptor substrate, and a 45 mm upper holder were sequentially mounted on a photoreceptor substrate support in the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 3 (l = 510 mm). The length of the opposing electrode in the longitudinal direction was 500 mm (L = 500 mm), and the opposing electrode was arranged such that the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the opposing electrode coincided with the midpoint in the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive member substrate. The counter electrode is made of stainless steel and has a diameter
A 3mm hole is staggered over the entire surface.

The pressure inside the vacuum chamber is reduced to about 1 Torr, and the photosensitive substrate and the counter electrode are heated to 250 ° C. and 200 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. After the temperature became constant, high-vacuum evacuation was performed, and a charge injection blocking layer, a photoconductive layer, and a surface layer were sequentially deposited under the film forming conditions shown in Table 1.

Fine powder was deposited inside the vacuum chamber after film formation, and the total amount of the deposited fine powder sampled at several points inside the vacuum chamber was as shown in Table 2.

The photoconductor on which the film was formed was mounted on a Carlson type copier to copy the entire black image.
Table 3 shows the number of white spots in the area of 7 mm × 364 mm.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention provides a silane or disilane between the photoconductor substrate side and the counter electrode by setting the total length of the upper and lower holders of the photoconductor substrate and the photoconductor substrate to a specific range. The non-uniform discharge generated at the time of discharge decomposition of the decomposition gas such as a derivative is eliminated, and the amount of fine powder deposited on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber can be reduced. Therefore, the photoreceptor produced by this method has extremely few defects due to the attachment of fine powder, and as a result, it is possible to obtain a defect-free image using this photoreceptor. Further, by reducing the amount of the fine powder deposited on the inner wall surface of the vacuum chamber, the cleaning performance of the vacuum chamber after the photoreceptor is manufactured is improved and the productivity is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example of a plasma CVD apparatus, and FIGS.
The figure is a configuration diagram near the electrode portion according to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 5 are configuration diagrams of the electrode portion of the comparative example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vacuum chamber, 2 ... Photoconductor board | substrate support, 3 ... Counter electrode, 4 ... Shield plate, 5 ... Gas introduction pipe, 6 ... Substrate heater, 7 ... Electrode heater, 8 ... ... Substrate rotation motor, 9 ... High frequency power supply, 10 ... Vacuum pump, 11
...... Lower holder, 12 Photoconductor substrate, 13 Upper holder.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photoconductor substrate support for mounting a photoconductor substrate in a vacuum chamber, and at least an opposing electrode provided opposite to the photoconductor substrate support, and detachable above and below the photoconductor substrate. The holder of the possible conductor is the substrate and the total length of the holder.
(Mm) with respect to the total length L (mm) of the counter electrode so that L + 20 ≦ l (unit: mm), and a glow discharge is generated between the counter electrode and the substrate for the photoreceptor, and the light is exposed on the substrate. A method for producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, comprising forming a layer.