JPH0639059B2 - Manufacturing equipment for substrate for photoconductive member - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention enables a metal body to be suitably used as a substrate of a constituent member of electric or electronic devices, particularly a photoconductive member such as an electrophotographic photoreceptor. , A surface treatment apparatus for the metal body.

[Description of Prior Art]

Where a metal body having a plate shape, a cylindrical shape, an endless belt shape, or the like is used as a substrate of a photoconductive member such as an electrophotographic photoreceptor, the metal body may have a surface shape suitable for the application. For this reason, the surfaces of these metal bodies are subjected to various cutting and polishing processes.

As the metal body, an aluminum alloy is generally used as the optimum one, and the surface thereof is subjected to the above-mentioned processing to obtain a desired surface, and a light-receiving layer according to the application is formed on the surface.

However according to the conventional cutting method to grinding processing method, Si-Al-Fe-based in the alloy structure, Fe-Al-based intermetallic compounds such as _{TiB 2, Al, Mg, Ti} , Si, oxides such as Fe Interspersed with, and the presence of holes due to H ₂ ,
Grain boundary steps and surface defects may occur between neighboring Al structures with different crystallographic orientations.

In addition, when applying an aluminum alloy to a substrate, an extremely clean surface is used, and an aluminum alloy with such a surface state is active even under an ultrahigh vacuum of 10 ^-9 mmHg. Therefore, an oxide film having a thickness of about 30Å is formed.

A substrate obtained by subjecting a surface to a conventional cutting method or a polishing method in such a problem eventually causes various problems and defects in the function of a photoconductive member manufactured using the same. Become.

That is, for example, when it is an electrophotographic photosensitive member, the light-receiving layer formed on the substrate may be poor in uniformity or homogeneity, or may be electrically, optically, and / or photoconductive. In some cases, the characteristics become non-uniform, causing defects in the image, and in the end, the characteristics become unusable. This point is remarkable when the light receiving layer is formed of silicon or a non-single crystal material containing silicon as a main component.

[Object of the Invention]

The main object of the present invention is to eliminate the various physical problems caused by the above-mentioned conventional processing methods and the problem that an oxide film is formed on the surface of a substrate, thereby processing the surface of a metal body to produce an electrical or electronic device. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a substrate which is optimal for the constituent members, especially for electrophotographic photoreceptors.

Another object of the present invention is to use the substrate obtained by the above method and form a desired photoreceptive layer on the processed surface thereof so that the electrical, optical and photoconductive properties are substantially always stable. It has excellent light fatigue resistance, does not cause deterioration phenomenon even after repeated use, has excellent durability and moisture resistance, and has no or almost no residual potential observed. If necessary, hydrogen atoms (H) and / or halogens can be used. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a substrate suitable for manufacturing a light receiving member having a light receiving layer composed of amorphous silicon a-Si (H, X) containing atoms (X).

[Constitution / Effect of Invention]

The inventors of the present invention should have an optimum surface shape for a substrate for electric or electronic devices, particularly for electrophotographic photoreceptors, and to avoid the problems brought about by the conventional surface processing method described above. As a result of repeated diligent research, when hitting them from below onto the surface of a predetermined metal body using a rigid spherical body, for example, when the metal body is an aluminum alloy, any intermetallic compound in the alloy structure, The surface of the metal body can be formed into a preferable surface shape without any intervening metal oxides or voids, and without the occurrence of grain boundary steps and surface defects. When it is carried out in the presence of a liquid containing a chain hydrocarbon, no oxide film is formed even under normal pressure conditions, and the processed surface of the substrate thus obtained is mainly a-Si (H) by the glow discharge method. , X) When formed, the formed light-receptive layer becomes uniform and homogeneous, and the light-receptive member is such that the light passing through the light-receptive layer is reflected at the layer interface, the substrate surface, in use. Based on the findings, we obtained the knowledge that the interference between the formed image and the formed image can be effectively prevented from becoming a striped pattern, and the output image can be of extremely excellent quality. And completed the present invention.

That is, according to the present invention, a rigid true sphere or a rigid sphere having an uneven surface shape is struck from a predetermined lower distance in a state where the surface of the substrate is coated with a liquid containing polybutene (hereinafter referred to as "surface coating liquid"). The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an optimal substrate for an electric or electronic device, particularly an electrophotographic photoreceptor, whose main point is to treat the material.

The substrate used for surface treatment with the apparatus of the present invention may be electrically conductive or electrically insulating.

As the conductive substrate, for example, NiCr, stainless steel, Al,
Examples thereof include metals such as Cr, Mo, Au, Nb, Ta, V, Ti, Pt and Pb or alloys thereof.

Examples of the electrically insulating support include films or sheets of synthetic resin such as polyester, polyethylene, polycarbonate, cellulose, acetate, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polystyrene and polyamide, glass, ceramics, paper and the like. It is desirable that at least one surface of these electrically insulating substrates is subjected to a conductive treatment, and a light receiving layer is provided on the surface side subjected to the conductive treatment.

For example, if it is glass, NiCr, Al, Cr,
Mo, Au, Ir, Nb, Ta, V, Ti, Pt, Pd, In ₂ O ₃ , SnO ₂ , I
Conductivity is provided by providing a thin film made of TO (In ₂ O ₃ + SnO ₂ ) or the like, or synthetic resin film such as polyester film is NiCl, Al, Ag, Pb, Zn, Ni,
A thin film of a metal such as Au, Cr, Mo, Ir, Nb, Ta, V, Tl, or Pt is provided on the surface by vacuum evaporation, electron beam evaporation, sputtering, or the surface is laminated with the metal. Conductivity is given to the surface. The shape of the substrate can be any shape such as a cylindrical shape or a plate shape, but the shape can be appropriately determined depending on the application and the desire. For example, when the light receiving member is used as an electrophotographic image forming member, it is desirable to have a cylindrical shape for continuous high speed copying. The thickness of the substrate is appropriately determined so that a desired light-receiving member can be formed, but when flexibility is required as the light-receiving member, it is within a range in which the function as the substrate is sufficiently exhibited. It can be made as thin as possible. However, in view of manufacturing and handling of the substrate, mechanical strength, etc., it is usually set to 10 μm or more.

Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, a rigid true sphere or a rigid sphere having an uneven surface shape (usually φ = 0.4
Examples of such hard spheres include stainless steel, aluminum, steel, nickel, brass and other metals, and ceramic or plastic rigid balls. Of these, stainless steel and steel hard spheres are preferable from a comprehensive viewpoint including durability, cost and the like. And the hardness of such a sphere is higher than that of the base,
Alternatively, it may be lower, but when the sphere is repeatedly used, it is preferably higher than the hardness of the substrate.

Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, the surface coating liquid used when forming the desired uneven shape on the surface of the substrate by using the above-mentioned rigid body spheres is evenly distributed on the surface of the substrate in any case. Coating as thin as possible and the coating film formed there solidifies as quickly as possible, and the solidified film is washed away without any unevenness by the washing operation, and at the same time the substrate surface does not show any drying unevenness. It is required to be dried in an absolutely clean state without leaving any sagging. For these reasons, the surface coating liquid is (a) a low-viscosity liquid, (b) having a static elimination action, (c) a coating action, (d) a coating film formed (coat) Can be easily washed off, and (e) after the coating film (coat) is washed off, the processed surface is dried in an absolutely clean state without leaving any drying unevenness. It is necessary to satisfy the conditions (a) to (e).

Therefore, as the surface coating solution, a solution obtained by dissolving a long chain hydrocarbon in a suitable organic solvent is generally used.

A typical example of the long-chain hydrocarbon is polybutene. Among polybutenes, those represented by the following general formula are preferable. That is, However, n in the formula represents an integer of 3 to 40. Among the polybutenes represented by the above general formula, those in which n is 3 to 20 are particularly preferable.

Incidentally, some of the polybutene itself (a) to
Some of them satisfy the condition (e), and in that case, the surface coating liquid may substantially consist of the polybutene.

The organic solvent may be any as long as it dissolves the long-chain hydrocarbon (polybutene) and gives a surface coating liquid satisfying the conditions (a) to (e), Examples thereof include ether, heptane, toluene, trichloroethylene, trichloroethane and the like. However, among these organic solvents, trichloroethane is most preferable for the following reasons.

That is, trichloroethane dissolves the polybutene extremely efficiently, and the liquid obtained has a moderate viscosity and is extremely malleable, covering the surface of the substrate uniformly and evenly with a very thin film. , The thin film does not hinder the formation of spherical trace dents on the surface of the substrate by the hard spheres hit from below, and causes rapid solidification of the thin film after the formation of the spherical trace dents. When used for, the solidified film is quickly eluted from the processed surface of the substrate and washed away, and the exposed processed surface of the substrate is dried in an absolutely clean state without leaving any cleaning unevenness.

Then, the surface coating liquid obtained by dissolving the polybutene in trichloroethane, the liquid composition ratio of both substances is important,
The above polybutene was added to trichloroethane at a ratio of 1: 4 to 4: 4.
It is usually in the range of 1, but is most preferably 1: 1.

By the way, the substrate surface-treated by the apparatus of the present invention has a surface shape as shown in FIG. 1 for explaining the case of using a rigid spherical body. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 1 (A), the surface 102 of the base 101 is directed to different parts,
A plurality of spheres 103, 103 having substantially the same diameter are regularly struck from the substantially same lower distance, and a plurality of spheres having substantially the same curvature (R) and substantially the same width are applied to the surface of the base body. The present invention relates to a support in which spherical trace depressions 104, 104 ... Are evenly generated so as to overlap each other to form a regular uneven shape.

In the example shown in FIG. 1 (B), a plurality of two types of spheres 103, 103, ...
3 ', 103' ... are struck from almost the same downward distance or from different downward distances, and two kinds of spherical dents 104, 104 ... And 104 having different curvatures and widths are formed on the surface of the base body.
′, 104 ′, etc. are evenly generated so as to overlap each other, and irregularly shaped irregularities are formed.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 1 (C) [front view (top) and cross-sectional view (bottom) of the surface of the substrate], the surface 102 of the substrate 101 is directed toward
A plurality of spheres 104, 104 with approximately the same diameter are randomly struck from the same lower distance to form a plurality of dents 104, 104 with the approximately same diameter and approximately the same width on the surface of the base body. The present invention relates to a support which is irregularly formed by irregularly generating the particles so that they overlap each other.

The substrate having the spherical trace-recessed surface shown in FIGS. 1 (A) to (C) is manufactured by the apparatus of the present invention, but in FIGS. 1 (A) to (C) For brevity,
The description of the surface coating liquid is omitted.

The apparatus for producing a substrate for a photoconductive member of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

Needless to say, the device of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the entire device of the present invention. In the figure, 1 indicates a cylindrical substrate. The cylindrical substrate 1 is pivotally supported at both ends, is connected to a driving means at one end thereof, and is fitted and fixed via an elastic member 21 to a rotating shaft 2 that rotates (not shown). Reference numeral 3 is an ejection pipe having injection holes 31, 31 ... And is connected to a retention tank 5 for the surface coating liquid 11 through a pump means by a pipe connection 4. Reference numeral 51 is a supply pipe for introducing the surface coating liquid into the retention tank 5 from a surface coating liquid supply source (not shown), and is provided with a valve 51 '. Reference numeral 52 is a discharge pipe for discharging the solid matter settling in the retention tank 5, and is provided with a valve 52 '. Reference numeral 6 is a feed pipe for supplying the surface coating liquid 11 in the surface coating liquid receiving container 7 to the retention tank 5.
Reference numeral 8 is a rigid sphere container formed of a multi-perforated plate. 91
Is an impeller having blade-like blades 9, 9 ... For flying a rigid sphere upward, and is attached to a rotating shaft 92 which is rotatably supported at both ends and is connected to drive means at one end thereof (not shown). It is fixed. The impeller 91 has its rigid-sphere flying blade 9
Of the hard spheres 12, 12 existing at the bottom of the hard sphere container 8
The blades 9 that rotate the ... Are installed at a position where the scooping is possible. Numeral 10 prevents the hard spheres 12, 12, ... And the surface coating liquid 11 blown out by the action of the rotating blast blades 9, 9 ,. It is a guide board to do.

It is needless to say that the device of the present invention is hermetically sealed inside by an appropriate housing (not shown).

The operation of the present invention described above will be described below.

First, the substrate 1 is placed on the rotary shaft 2 and placed at a predetermined position in the system and rotated. On the other hand, a surface coating solution [for example, polybutene trichloroethane (1:
1) liquid] is introduced into the retention tank 5, the pump means is operated to guide the liquid to the ejection pipes 3 and 3, and is ejected to the surface of the substrate through the ejection holes 31, 31 ,. A liquid film of the surface coating liquid is formed by covering the whole surface.

At such a place, the impeller 91 is rotated to fly the hard spheres 12, 12, ...
, Are forced to fly upward to collide them with the surface of the substrate 1.

After the collision, the hard balls 12, 12, ... Drop and collect at the bottom of the container 8, and they are again propelled upward as described above. The surface coating liquid drops, flows down through the wall hole of the hard sphere container 8 and enters the surface coating liquid receiving container 7, and then enters the retention tank,
It is circulated to the ejection pipes 3 and 3.

During the above operation, the degree of clarification of the surface coating liquid in the retention tank 5 is checked, and if solid matters are deposited at the bottom of the tank, they are removed through the discharge pipe 52, and if necessary, a new one is added. The surface coating liquid is supplied through the supply pipe 51.

By operating as described above, the formation of the trace dents on the surface of the cylindrical substrate is performed in a state where the surface of the cylindrical substrate is completely covered with the thin liquid film of the surface coating liquid.

The above-mentioned operation can be carried out under normal pressure and normal temperature, but it is preferably carried out under vacuum condition when it is desired to strengthen the collision of the hard sphere with the surface of the cylindrical substrate.

When the operation is stopped after the lapse of a predetermined time, a substrate having a thin solidified film covering the surface evenly and having a spherical trace dent shape is uniformly obtained without leaving a flat portion. Even if this substrate is carried out of the system and stored as it is until it is used, since its surface is completely shielded from the outside air by the solidified film, the substrate is made of aluminum alloy. However, there is no chance of causing a problem such as the formation of an oxide film on the surface.

According to the apparatus of the present invention described above, after carrying out the treated substrate,
Since a new substrate is loaded into the system and the above-described operation can be repeated for the substrate, a substrate having a desired surface treatment can be continuously produced.

In the above description, the case where a single substrate is used has been described, but in the apparatus of the present invention, it is of course possible to make the scale such that a plurality of substrates can be surface-processed by one operation. .

In addition, the substrate obtained by the surface treatment by the above-mentioned operation, in any case, is subjected to a solvent washing treatment to elute the solidified film in any case, and after drying the surface to an absolutely clean state,
When the apparatus is carried into a film forming (photoreceptive layer forming) apparatus (not shown), the solvent cleaning treatment can be performed by the apparatus of the present invention.

In that case, after finishing the surface processing, the surface coating liquid is removed from the system to bring the inside of the system into a cleaning state, and then a cleaning liquid (for example, trichloroethane) is sent from a cleaning liquid tank (not shown) to the ejection pipes 3 and 3 via the pipe 4, The downward injection is made from the ejection holes 31, 31, .... At that time, the impeller 91 is stopped and the base 1 is rotated.

The substrate obtained by surface processing with the apparatus of the present invention described above has desired spherical trace dents formed without leaving a flat surface on the surface, and the entire surface is covered with a solidified film and shielded from the outside air. When the washing liquid is washed using a solvent such as trichloroethane, elution of the solidified film proceeds extremely efficiently, and the surface can be dried extremely efficiently without leaving any drying unevenness. The surface state is absolutely clean, which makes it optimal as a substrate for photoconductive members.

By the way, a-Si (H, X) [where X represents a halogen atom is obtained by the glow discharge method on the support having the surface of the spherical trace dent shape obtained as described above. ], A film similar to the above is formed on a support having a spherical trace dent shape surface obtained by a method not using a surface coating solution as in the method of the present invention, Both of them are irradiated with a laser having a wavelength of 780 nm and a spot diameter of 80 μm using an image exposure device to perform image exposure, develop and transfer to obtain an image.
The appearance of interference fringes in the obtained image was observed, and it was found that the former one was remarkably excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C) are schematic views for explaining the uneven shape of the substrate surface formed by the apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the entire apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1 ... Cylindrical substrate, 2 ... Rotating shaft, 3 ... Jet pipe, 4 ...
… Conduit, 5 …… Stagnant tank, 6 …… Supply pipe, 7 …… Surface coating liquid receiving container, 8 …… Rigid body supply container, 9 …… Blade-like blade, 91 …… Impeller, 10 …… Guide Plate, 11 …… Surface coating liquid, 12 …… Hard sphere,

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Keiichi Murai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 63-20912 (JP, B2)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rotary shaft for holding a substrate, a surface coating liquid supply means for forming a liquid film on the surface of the substrate on the rotary shaft, and a rigid sphere from below on the substrate surface covered with the liquid film. An apparatus for manufacturing a substrate for a photoconductive member, comprising: a hard-sphere upper fly-out means for hitting. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hard sphere upward flying means is an impeller. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plate body for preventing the rigid body sphere from flying out of the system. 4. An apparatus according to any one of claims (1) to (3), wherein the hard sphere upward flying means is provided in a hard sphere container system integrally formed by multi-perforated members. .