JPS62133074A - Apparatus for producing electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable stable and quick mass production of photosensitive bodies by providing plural pieces of supports for a conductive bar-shaped body which rotate and revolving horizontally in a vacuum vessel and using a metallic member having an arc-shaped section as a counter electrode. CONSTITUTION:Plural pieces of the supports 13 which rotate horizontally in a direction A and revolving in a direction B are horizontally arranged in the vacuum vessel 11. The cylindrical conductive base body 12 is mounted to such supports 13 by bringing the same into contact with the inside surface of said body. The counter electrode 14 having the arc shaped section is provided below the supports 13 apart at a prescribed space therefrom. The inside of the vacuum vessel 11 is evacuated by an evacuation device 19 and a gaseous raw material (for example, SiH4) is introduced from a supplying device 22 via an ejection part 23 into the vessel according to the above- mentioned constitution. The base body 12 is heated to the prescribed temp. via the supports 13 by a temp. control mechanism 21 and while the supports 13 are rotated and revolved by a rotational driving mechanism 24, a voltage is impressed between the supports and the counter electrode 14 from an RF power source 20 to generate glow discharge. The gaseous raw material is thereby cracked and the excellent photosensitive layer is deposited on the base body 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field to which the Invention Pertains] The present invention relates to a photoreceptor for electrophotography in which a photoreceptor jΔ made of a photoconductive material with amorphous silicon as a base material is formed on a conductive substrate by a plasma CVD method. Regarding manufacturing darkening.

[Prior Art and Topics] Conventionally, amorphous key selenium has been used as a photoconductive material for electrophotographic photoreceptors (hereinafter also referred to as photoreceptors).

Amorphous selenium-tellurium alloys and selenium-arsenic alloys.

Inorganic materials such as cadmium sulfide and zinc oxide, PVK
.

Organic materials such as "TN'F", phthalocyanine pigments, azo pigments, etc. have been used. Photoreceptors with photosensitive layers made of each of these materials have their own advantages, but they have low heat resistance and lack printing durability. Also, they have drawbacks such as low photosensitivity, and some materials are toxic, so they do not necessarily fully satisfy the performance required of photoreceptors. .

On the other hand, the light guide material (hereinafter simply referred to as A-8I), which uses amorphous silicon as a base material, has excellent photosensitivity, heat resistance, and printing durability, and is relatively easy to print on large areas. It has been attracting attention in recent years because it can be obtained from various sources and is not particularly concerned about environmental pollution.

Vapor deposition method, sputtering method, plasma C method, photo-CVD method, etc. are known as methods for forming the a-8i film, but radio frequency (RF) glow is mainly used to form the photoreceptor. Plasma CVD by electric discharge iZ> (used. This method reduces the pressure inside the reaction vessel to vacuum, and uses a gas containing silicon (Si) as a raw material gas, such as SiH4 or S
iF4 or the like is introduced, a conductive substrate placed in the reaction vessel is used as one electrode, and RF' direct pressure is applied between it and the opposing electrode to generate plasma by glow emission 5. The A-8I film, which is formed by the method of decomposing the raw material gas and forming the A-8I film on the substrate to form a photosensitive layer, has fewer localized levels in the forbidden region and has high photoconductivity. , also diborane (JhHs).

By mixing a gas such as phosphine (PH3) with the raw material gas and decomposing it into a film, it is possible to control the conductivity and increase the resistance, and it is also possible to control the valence electrons. ), nitrogen (N), oxygen (0), etc. a-8t
It can also be incorporated into films, and is known to have excellent properties that fully satisfy the photosensitivity characteristics, temperature characteristics 7, mechanical strength, durability, etc. required for photoreceptors.
A photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer made of this a-8i has reached the stage of practical use in terms of performance and manufacturing technology.

However, no manufacturing technology or method has yet been established that can produce large quantities of A-8T photoreceptors with stable performance.

For example, a plasma CVD apparatus as shown in FIG. 3 is known as an apparatus for manufacturing an A-8T photoreceptor.

In FIG. 3, a cylindrical conductive substrate 3 is attached to a rotary support 2 vertically arranged in a vacuum chamber 1, and a hollow double-walled cylindrical monopole is placed around the rotating support 2, which faces the substrate 3. 4 is fixed to the vacuum chamber 1 by an insulating support (not shown). The base body 3 and the pole 4 are electrically shielded by a metal cylinder 5 attached to surround the electrode 4 and upper and lower metal lids 6 to confine plasma. After the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated via the exhaust pulp 7, a raw material gas such as silane gas ( SiH4) is introduced and a voltage is applied between the substrate 3, which is heated to a predetermined temperature and rotated by the heater 9, and the counter electrode 4, and plasma is generated by glow discharge, decomposing the raw material gas and dissolving the surface of the substrate 3. An a-8i film is formed to form a photosensitive layer 1-. However, in such an apparatus, in order to form the A-8I film on many substrates at the same time, many substrates must be attached to the support 2 at once, which increases the length of the support and the height of the apparatus. This is undesirable because it increases the amount of electricity and reduces workability, but it does not affect the amount of charge on the photoreceptor.

In addition, when forming the a-8i film, a-8i is deposited not only on the substrate surface but also on the surface and end of the counter electrode, the inner wall near the end of the counter electrode, etc., but the temperature of these parts is low and the a-8i is in the form of powder or pieces, and often peels off due to its own weight or impact during film formation, and these powders and pieces fly onto the substrate surface and adhere to the a-Si film on the substrate surface.
As a result of damaging the photosensitive layer, defects such as irregularities occur on the surface of the photosensitive layer, causing image defects.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to stably and quickly form a custom-made immersed photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer free of defects such as irregularities using the plasma CVD method. The purpose is to provide a possible photoconductor manufacturing problem.

[Key points of the invention]

The object of the present invention is to generate a glow discharge by applying a voltage between a cylindrical conductive substrate attached to a support placed in a vacuum chamber and a counter electrode, and to generate a glow discharge from a raw material introduced into the vacuum chamber. In a photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus that forms a photoreceptor layer on the substrate by decomposing a gas, the support is arranged on the same circumference centered on a horizontal axis and parallel to the horizontal axis, and the cylindrical substrate has an inner surface. A plurality of conductive rod-shaped bodies are mounted in contact with each other, and are capable of rotating around their respective axes and revolving around a horizontal axis, and are capable of being driven to revolve around a horizontal axis.
+i is a metal member having an arc-shaped cross section obtained by cutting a cylindrical metal along a plane parallel to the cylindrical axis; This is achieved by using at least one device arranged coaxially with the surface.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure (a) shows the analysis surface of the X empty tank, and Figure 1 shows the structure of the device. In FIG. 1(a), there are a plurality of supports 13 from last fall in the vacuum 411 (12 are illustrated in the figure).
Arranged horizontally and parallel to the axis on the same circumference centered on the horizontal axis [
These supports 13 can rotate around their respective axes as shown by arrows A, and revolve as a whole around a horizontal axis as shown by arrow B. The cylindrical conductive substrate 12 is mounted on a support 13 so that its inner surface is in full contact with the support 13, and is heated through the support 13 and rotated and revolved while being controlled to a predetermined temperature. The opposite side is the metal member 14r/'i, which is a metal member whose cross section is arcuate and approximately the same length as the support 13, obtained by cutting a cylindrical metal along a plane parallel to the cylindrical axis, and the circumference formed by the plurality of supports 13. They are arranged coaxially with the circumferential surface so as to surround the support group at a predetermined interval below the outside of the surface. The vacuum chamber 11 has a gas inlet 15 connected at the other end to a source gas supply source, and an exhaust port 17 connected at the other end to a vacuum evacuation device.

FIG. 1(b) conceptually shows the configuration of the light body manufacturing apparatus having the vacuum chamber shown in FIG. 1(a),
Vacuum, l'1lll is schematically shown as viewed from the side, and only two supports 13, upper and lower, are shown, each with four bases 12 attached.

The support body 13, and hence the base body 12, are caused to rotate and revolve by a rotational movement mechanism 24. Further, the heating and temperature control mechanism section 21 heats and controls the support body 13, and hence the base body 12, to a predetermined temperature. For example, there are two methods for this: a method in which a pipe-shaped hole is formed in a rod-shaped body as a support and a controlled liquid heat medium is circulated through the pipe, or a method in which the support is made up of a heat pipe and an electric heater is used. Also, methods are adopted in which temperature is controlled using coolant. 20 is a source of high frequency (y), one end of which is connected to the counter electrode 14 and the other end of which is grounded. Reference numeral 22 denotes a gas supply device to which a raw material gas cylinder is attached, which has a pressure reducing valve, a flow rate controller, and a stop pulp, and is connected to the vacuum chamber 11 via an inlet 15. Reference numeral 19 denotes a vacuum evacuation device connected to the vacuum chamber 11 through the exhaust port 17. The vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated by the exhaust device 19.
The pulp 16 is opened and a raw material gas, for example, SiH4, is introduced from the gas supply device 22 through the introduction port 15. At that time, the raw material gas is introduced into the support shaft 13 at the opening of the inlet 15.
The distribution of the amount of gas in the axial direction of the support shaft, and hence the cylindrical base attached to it, is introduced from the jet hole provided in the pipe-shaped gas jet part 23 with both ends closed and connected parallel to the support shaft. is ejected evenly. The supply amount of the raw material gas is adjusted at a predetermined time by the flow ttA meter of the gas supply device 22 and the exhaust pulp 18. The base 12 is connected to the support 1
A predetermined temperature, for example, 20
01: While rotating and revolving, a voltage is applied between the counter electrode 14 and the RF power source 20 to generate a glow discharge, and the source gas 5iHn is decomposed and released onto the w body 12.
-8i pattern is deposited to form a photosensitive layer. In this way, a large number of pieces (in the case of the illustrated example, 4
A photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer having a uniform and uniform thickness (12 = 48 pieces) can be manufactured. Moreover, the counter electrode is actually 4i outside the circle (support) formed by several fJt supports.
Since the liquid is distributed below the substrate, powder or fine particles of the decomposition products of the raw material gas generated on the counter electrode, at the end of the counter electrode, and on the inner wall of the tank near the end of the counter electrode fall onto the surface of the substrate. It does not damage the photosensitive layer formed on the substrate surface by adhesion, cause unevenness, or contaminate the photosensitive layer, so it has a homogeneous photosensitive layer without any defects such as unevenness and image defects. A photoreceptor with no color can be obtained.

Furthermore, in this example, since the inner surface of the cylindrical substrate is in full contact with the rod-shaped support, no glow discharge occurs between the support surface and the inner surface of the substrate, and there is no accumulation of decomposition products. The heat transfer between the body and the substrate does not change, and local changes in the quality of the photosensitive layer formed on the substrate do not occur.

Figure 2 is a conceptual sectional view of a vacuum chamber according to another embodiment of the present invention, and is an example in which an opposing fi #1.25 is further added to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 above. Like the counter electrode 14, the counter electrode 25 is a metal member in the shape of a cylindrical cone made by cutting a cylindrical metal along a plane parallel to the cylindrical axis, and the length is approximately the same as that of the support. It is arranged above the inner surface of the circumference formed by the support body 13 at a predetermined distance from the circumferential surface. Adhesion of the decomposition products to the opposing surface occurs substantially on the surface directly exposed to the discharge. Therefore, the opposite pole is 25
In this case, decomposition products adhere to the upper surface of the substrate, and this adhered substance rarely peels off and falls, thereby damaging and contaminating the photosensitive layer formed on the surface of the substrate. On the other hand, counter electrode 1
By providing an opposing @ Yui 25 in addition to 4, each revolving base is constantly exposed to magnetic discharge, making it thermally stable and a homogeneous pattern can be obtained. It is possible to obtain a film formation rate that is comparable to that in the case where the opposing faces 1[ of the shape] surround the film. In this way, it is possible to produce a photoreceptor in a short time having a photosensitive layer composed of a smooth film and a smooth surface.
Becomes T-Noh.

Furthermore, it is effective to provide a mechanism that can heat the poles of such arcuate opposing poles and control them to a predetermined temperature, since it is possible to reduce peeling and falling off of decomposition products from the opposing electrodes.

In addition, the ground electrode is installed so that there is a slight gap between the electrolyzed surfaces other than the areas where the opposing 'ti configuration is desired, thereby increasing the discharge efficiency with the base and preventing any negative impact on the surrounding area. It is also possible.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, in the production St of a photoreceptor in which a photoreceptor layer made of a-8i is formed by a plasma CVD method, a plurality of photoreceptors are arranged parallel to a horizontal axis and on the same circumference centered on the horizontal axis. The rod-shaped supports are made to be able to revolve around the horizontal axis as a whole while rotating around the rod axes. at least one counter electrode made of a metal member is arranged coaxially with the circumferential surface at a predetermined interval below the circumferential surface formed by the support group;
By creating a structure in which a glow discharge is generated between the plurality of cylindrical dedicated substrates attached to the support group to decompose the raw material gas and form a photosensitive layer, the photosensitive layer is free from defects such as unevenness. Photoreceptors with excellent characteristics having an a-3T photosensitive layer can be mass-produced quickly and stably at a high yield, and can be provided at low cost, which has an even greater effect.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the device according to the present invention.
Figure 1 (ta) is a sectional view of the principle of the vacuum chamber, and Figure 1 ('b) is a diagram of the principle configuration of the vacuum chamber. FIG. 2 is a principle sectional view of a vacuum chamber according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a principle sectional view of a conventional vacuum chamber. 11... Vacuum chamber, 12... Conductive substrate, 13...
Support, 14... Counter electrode, 15... Gas inlet,
17...Exhaust port, 24...Rotation drive mechanism section. 1bo: 91+'・shi Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Z

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) Glow discharge is generated by applying a voltage between a cylindrical conductive substrate attached to a support placed in a vacuum chamber and a counter electrode, and the glow discharge is introduced into the vacuum chamber. In an electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus in which a photosensitive layer is formed on the cylindrical conductive substrate by decomposing the raw material gas, the support is arranged parallel to the horizontal axis on the same circumference centered on the horizontal axis. The cylindrical conductive base is a plurality of conductive rod-like bodies arranged so that the inner surfaces thereof are in contact with each other, and the conductive rod-like bodies are rotatable around a horizontal axis while rotating around their respective axes. , the counter electrode is a metal member having an arc-shaped cross section obtained by cutting a cylindrical metal along a plane parallel to the cylindrical axis, and is spaced at a predetermined interval below the circumferential surface formed by the plurality of supports. 1. An electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus characterized in that at least one photoreceptor is arranged coaxially with a circumferential surface. 2) The photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the counter electrode is disposed above at least one of the inner surface and below the outer surface of the circumferential surface formed by the plurality of supports. Electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing equipment. 3) The electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for heating the cylindrical conductive substrate via a support and controlling the temperature to a predetermined temperature. Device. 4) The electrophotographic photoreceptor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for heating the counter electrode and controlling the temperature to a predetermined temperature.