JPS61129662A - Image information recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily form an image in an invisible wavelength region by converting the wavelengths of invisible light into those of the visible light, and forming an electrostatic image on a photoconductive body having high sensitivity to the visible light. CONSTITUTION:Laser beams 12 of 820nm wavelength is emitted from a semiconductor laser device 11 of GaAlAs, or the like, and modulated with image information in a device not illustrated, and allowed to irradiate a secondary high-frequency wave generator 13 composed of KNbO3. It converts the laser beams 12 into 410nm laser beams 14 having image information, the beams 14 are reflected with a polygonal mirror 15, and allowed to form an image through an ftheta lens on a photosensitive drum 18 composed essentially of an amorphous silicon hydride and electrostatically charged with a corotron 17 in advance to form an electrostatic latent image. It is developed 19, and transferred and fixed with devices not illustrated, thus permitting image information to be easily visualized, and this device to be adapted to detection of the images of X-rays UV rays, and IR rays.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a recording device for not only image information of visible light but also image information of invisible light such as X-rays, ultraviolet rays, and infrared rays, and is particularly applicable to electrophotographic processes. The present invention relates to an electrostatic latent image that can be applied to the printer used in the present invention, and a device for forming a charge pattern for an imaging device.

Conventional technology-accumulating photoconductors are used in electrophotographic photoreceptors, image pickup tubes, etc., and are used for the purpose of retaining a charge pattern for a certain period of time.
A high resistivity of 10 Ωcm or more is required. In order to have such a high resistance, a semiconductor material with a wide forbidden band width is advantageous, and it is difficult to make it sensitive to infrared rays. Furthermore, sensitivity at short wavelengths decreases due to limitations on substrate materials and the like. In general, many of the devices that satisfy this purpose have sensitivity limited to the visible light region. However, on the other hand, there is a demand for measuring images of electromagnetic radiation waves other than visible light, such as infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, and X-rays. Various improvements have been made to photoconductors in the past in order to solve this difference in the sensitivity of the photoconductor and the wavelength range of the light source. As a specific example, the current state of electrophotographic photoreceptors will be explained.

As printers using the electrophotographic process, printers using light emitting sources such as laser printers and LED printers, and printers using optical shutter arrays such as liquid crystal printers are being researched.

The selection of this light source must match the sensitivity range of the electrophotographic photoreceptor to be used. Generally, electrophotographic photoreceptors are
High resistance is required for charging. Because this high resistance is required, electrophotographic photoreceptors are generally made of materials with a wide forbidden band width, such as Se, C
tiS, As2Se3. a Si :H etc. are used. FIG. 6 shows the spectral sensitivity characteristics of main electrophotographic photoreceptors. In contrast, semiconductor lasers that have been put into practical use are
Gas lasers have a wavelength of 780 to 820 nm and are well matched with these photoreceptors, but they have the disadvantage of requiring large-sized devices. On the other hand, LED has a center wavelength near 830 nm, which matches well with aSi:H emitter, but L
The device becomes expensive in terms of uniformity of the ED array, yield, etc. Furthermore, in the method of using a liquid crystal optical shutter, the light is turned on and off by electrical sweeping and switching, so any light source can be selected, but there is a problem with the response speed of the liquid crystal. In this way, in order to efficiently form an electrostatic latent image in a printer using an electrophotographic process, it is necessary to match the wavelength of the light source and the wavelength of the sensitivity of the electrophotographic photoreceptor.
Even if this is the case, conventional methods have various drawbacks. Therefore, a variety of electrophotographic photoreceptors are being researched that have sensitivity from 7BOn+++ to 820 nm, which is the oscillation wavelength of semiconductor lasers in practical use. -yT
ey et al. are being considered. However, increasing the long wavelength sensitivity by using a material with a small forbidden band width is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of charging. Therefore, it is an important issue how to solve the contradictory characteristics of long wavelength sensitivity and high charging potential.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As described above, expanding the selection range of photoreceptors and light sources is an important problem at present, and by doing so, it is possible to expand the scope of use of devices and imaging devices using electrophotographic processes.

In particular, the present invention provides an apparatus for forming electrostatic latent images corresponding to images in a wide range of wavelength bands using a conventional photoreceptor that has a high charging potential suitable for electrophotographic processes and is sensitive in the visible light region. The purpose is to provide

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention converts the wavelength of a light source that forms one image pattern into a wavelength sensitive to a photoreceptor, and irradiates the photoreceptor with the wavelength to form a charge pattern. The structure includes means for charging a photoreceptor having photoconductivity, and means for converting the wavelength of first light having image information to be recorded into second light having sensitivity to the photoreceptor using a wavelength conversion device. , and means for irradiating the photoreceptor with the second light to form a charge image on the photoreceptor corresponding to image information possessed by the first light.

Here, the wavelength conversion device includes a second harmonic generation element such as LjNbO, a photoluminescence material such as II-Vl compound semiconductor, and a material having both photoconductivity and Bockel effect properties such as Bi)2Si020. Image conversion element with, patent application 1984
There is an optical shutter, etc., which is a combination of a photoconductive element and PLZT, etc., as disclosed in No. 129861. That is, it may be any device that generates second light having a wavelength different from that of the first light in accordance with the image information contained in the first light.

Operation FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic principle of the present invention. First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the photoreceptor 2 formed on the substrate 1 is charged by applying a voltage or by using a corotron. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the first light 3 having image information is converted into a second light having the image information and having a different wavelength from the first light 3 by the wavelength converter 4. 2 to 5 light. This second light 5 is irradiated onto the photoreceptor 2, and the photoreceptor 2 is exposed to the first light.
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the light 3 is obtained.

Embodiment 5 FIG. S2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention in which a second harmonic generator is added to a conventional laser printer.

In the figure, 11 is a semiconductor laser device such as GaA As, which generates a laser beam 12 with a wavelength of 820 nw and an output of 20 mW, and a second harmonic generator 13 made of KNbO3.
irradiate. The second harmonic generator 13 converts the 820 nm laser beam into a 410 nm, 21 laser beam 14. This converted laser beam 14 is transmitted to the polygon mirror 1
5, passes through the fO lens 16, and is initially reflected at 10
The light is irradiated onto a photosensitive drum 18 made of amorphous hydrogenated silicon whose surface potential is charged to -400V by a tron 17. The surface potential of the portion irradiated with the 410n- laser beam 14 becomes close to Ov, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 18. 18 is a developing device.

The amorphous hydrogenated silicon used here was formed by a reactive sputtering method, and its spectral sensitivity characteristics expressed in half the light and the reciprocal of the exposure amount are as shown in FIG. Further, the photosensitive drum 18 has almost no sensitivity to a laser beam of 820 nm, but is sufficiently sensitive to a laser beam of 410 nm. In this way, it becomes possible to use a small semiconductor laser device. In addition to the above-mentioned K N bt03, LiNbO3 and Zn5 are used as second harmonic generators.
e, GaP, etc. can be used.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention using the image information conversion device described in Japanese Patent Application No. 129861/1982.

In this embodiment, image information possessed by a semiconductor laser is converted into image information of green light from a fluorescent lamp, and a latent image is formed on a photosensitive drum. That is, the laser beam 22 with a wavelength of 78 (1 nm) emitted from the semiconductor laser 21 passes through the polygon mirror 23.
and absorbed by the photoconductive layer in the wavelength conversion element 24. Thereby, the green light 26 emitted from the fluorescent lamp 25 irradiated onto the wavelength conversion element 24 is turned on and off in accordance with the laser beam 22, and is irradiated onto a photoreceptor 28 made of Se and having a thickness θOJLm.

FIG. 5 is a side view (a) and a front view (b) showing the structure of an example of the wavelength conversion element shown in Japanese Patent Application No. 5i9-129881.
). In the figure, 31 is a PL with an electro-optic effect.
ZT, 32 is Zn5e-C sensitive to 780na+
Cdt-x-ZnxTe)1-y (InLTe3)7
It is a heterojunction photoconductor, and a constant voltage is applied to electrode a3. It turns on and off the light 37.

In FIG. 4, the wavelength conversion element 24 converts the image signal information of the semiconductor laser into the corresponding green color of the fluorescent lamp, and the corotron 27 converts the image signal information to +800 in advance.
The photoreceptor 28 charged with V is irradiated with the light to form an electrostatic latent image.

Note that in the above embodiment, PLZT is used as the wavelength conversion element.
Although we have shown an example using
Other configurations shown in No. 01 may also be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As described above, the present invention converts the wavelength of first light having image information to be recorded into second light that is sensitive to a photoreceptor, and directs this second light to the photoreceptor. Since the first light is irradiated to form a charge image on the photoreceptor corresponding to the image information contained in the first light, a wide range of combinations of photoreceptors such as electrophotographic photoreceptors and imaging devices and light sources can be selected. , it is possible to improve the characteristics of electrophotography and imaging devices and expand their range of use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the first embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 is amorphous hydrogenated silicon used in the embodiment of Fig. 2. Spectral sensitivity characteristics of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
The figures show a side view (a) and a front view (b) of a configuration example of the wavelength conversion device used in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 shows the spectral sensitivity characteristics of a conventional electrophotographic photoreceptor. 1...Base 2...Photoreceptor 3...First light 4...Wavelength conversion device 5...Second light 11.
21... Semiconductor laser device, 13... Second harmonic generator 15.23... Polygon mirror 18...
- Photosensitive drum 24...wavelength conversion element. Name of agent Patent attorney Etsuji Yoshizaki Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Skin surface [9 m] Fig. 4 Fig. 5 (Q) (b) Fig. 6 Sho LL 9 m1

Claims (1)

[Claims] means for charging a photoconductor having photoconductivity; and means for converting a wavelength of a first light having image information to be recorded into a wavelength of a second light having sensitivity to the photoconductor using a wavelength conversion device; An image information recording apparatus characterized by comprising means for irradiating the photoreceptor with the second light to form a charge image on the photoreceptor corresponding to image information possessed by the first light.