JPS5852651A - Manufacture of electrophotographic receptor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a homogeneous photosensitive layer having high resistivity and superior printing and heat resistance to be formed on the large surface of a substrate, by producing an electrophotographic receptor layer by plasma decomposition of reaction gas contg. zinc and oxygen. CONSTITUTION:A photosensitive layer of amorphous ZnO is produced by evacuating the inside of a vacuum vessel 1 with a pump 7, and feeding gaseous argon contg. 0.1% diethyl zinc (C2H5)2Zn, e.g., from a cylinder 8, and argon contg. 7% oxygen from a cylinder 9. Amounts of flows from cylinders 8, 9 are controlled to 50cc/min and 10cc/min, respectively, gas pressure is controlled to 1Torr, temp. of the substrate 2 is kept to <=150 deg.C with a heater not illustrated, 50W radio frequency power is applied between an opposite electrode 5 and the substrate by a power supply 6 to cause plasma discharge, thus permitting a homogeneous amorphous ZnO film to be deposited all over the surface of the substrate by rotation of it preferably in 1- few tens mum thickness.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor using zinc oxide (ZnO) as a photoconductive material.

ZnO is used as a photoconductive material for photoreceptors such as electrostatic copying machines as a less polluting and easily available raw material. Since ZnO has a high sublimation point of 1725°C, it is not possible to easily form a large-area photosensitive layer by vapor deposition.
Most nO photoreceptors use a dispersion system with resin. However, since the dispersion system is porous, it is easily affected by moisture and the charged potential is unstable. Furthermore, since there are variations in the characteristics of the particles to be mixed, it is not possible to obtain a photosensitive layer having uniform characteristics over the entire surface.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer made only of ZnO instead of a dispersion system with a resin.

This objective is achieved by depositing on top of the electrically conductive substrate an amorphous zinc oxide layer produced by plasma decomposition of a reactive gas containing zinc and oxygen as constituent elements. The reaction gas is mainly argon, with zinc in the form of dimethylzinc vapor and oxygen in the form of oxygen gas.
It is preferable that the gas be contained as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen dioxide gas, or nitrogen gas.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the figure, an aluminum cylinder 2 as a photoreceptor base is supported in a vacuum chamber 1 by a support 41 which is rotated by a motor 3 and is grounded. A counter electrode 5 for generating a discharge is insulated and supported in a vacuum chamber 1 facing the base 2#, and one end is connected to a grounded power source 6. Vacuum chamber 1 has exhaust pump 7
and reactant gas supply cylinders 8 and 9 are connected. In order to produce amorphous ZnO (photosensitive) VI using the apparatus, the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated by the pump 7, and 0.1% diethylzinc (for example) is added from the cylinder 8.
Argon gas containing (02H5)2Zn) and argon gas containing 7% oxygen (02) is supplied from cylinder 9. The gas flows from cylinders 8 and 9 are first set at 50 cc/mix and 10 cc/n+in, respectively.
and the gas pressure is 1'1. 17 J m to
Radio frequency power of W is applied to generate a plasma discharge. As a result, a homogeneous amorphous ZnO film having a uniform thickness is deposited over the entire surface of the rotating substrate. Film thickness is 1μ
m or several + μm is appropriate. In case of 50W input,
When the substrate temperature exceeds 150° C., the ZnO film becomes amorphous. As the zinc compound of the raw material gas, dimethylzinc may be used instead of diethylzinc (DE Z ). Also, instead of 02, CO
2. Gases such as NO□ and NO may also be used.

Amorphous ZnO has higher mechanical strength than dispersed ZnO or selenium, and therefore has excellent printing durability. Furthermore, since the crystallization temperature is higher than that of Se, which is 70° C., it has excellent heat resistance. Furthermore, the amorphous ZnO film has a high specific resistance of 109Ω or more, which is 1012Ω, which is desirable for a photosensitive layer.
・In order to achieve a high resistance of α or higher, the legs can be adjusted by adding carbon, hydrogen, and excess oxygen.

As described above, the present invention generates a photosensitive layer for electrophotography by plasma decomposition of a reactive gas containing zinc and oxygen, and thereby produces a photosensitive layer with high specific resistance, excellent printing durability, and heat resistance. Since it can be formed uniformly on the area substrate,
Raw material O] It is extremely effective in producing electrophotographic photoreceptors using zinc oxide, which is easy to obtain and has low pollution.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a layout diagram showing an example of a device for implementing the present invention. 1. Vacuum chamber, 2. Substrate, 5 - Counter electrode, 6. Power supply. Ige 11 people f132 soup Yamaguchi 凰-5,,--

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) An electrophotographic photoreceptor characterized in that an amorphous zinc oxide layer is deposited on a conductive substrate by plasma decomposition of a reactive gas containing zinc and oxygen as component elements. Production method. 2. A method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein the reaction gas is mainly argon and contains zinc as diethylzinc or diethylzinc vapor. 3) A photosensitive method for electrophotography according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reaction gas is mainly argon and contains oxygen as carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen dioxide gas, or nitrogen gas. How the body is manufactured.