JPS6221159A - Electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a photosensitive body having excellent electrostatic charging property and environmental resistance by forming an electric charge generating layer of microcrystalline silicon contg. one kind of element among carbon, nitrogen and oxygen and forming an electric charge transfer layer of the microcrystalline silicon contg. the same one kind of the element. CONSTITUTION:The charge transfer layer 23 is formed on a conductive substrate 21 made of aluminum and the charge generating layer 24 is formed thereon; further a surface layer 25 is formed thereon. The charge transfer layer has 3-80mum layer thickness and is formed of a-Si contg. one kind of the element selected from C, O and N. The charge generating layer has 1-10mum layer thickness and is formed of muC-Si contg. one kind of the element selected from C, O and N. The electrostatic charging property (electrostatic charge holding function) is additionally improved by incorporating the assigned element into the charge generating layer 24 to the extent of not decreasing photoconductivity and the surface of the photoconductive layer is protected by forming the surface layer 25, by which the environmental resistance and the electrostatic charging property are improved. The content of C, O and N is made 10-50atom%.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor having excellent charging characteristics, photosensitivity characteristics, environmental resistance, etc.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] Conventionally, as materials for forming the photoconductive layer of an electrophotographic photoreceptor, inorganic materials such as CdS, ZnO, Se, 5e-Te, or amorphous silicon, or poly-N-vinylcarbazole have been used. (PVCz) or trinitrofluorene (T
Organic materials such as NF) are used. however,
These conventional photoconductive materials have various problems in terms of photoconductive properties or manufacturing, and these materials are used depending on the purpose of use, sacrificing the properties of the photoreceptor system to some extent.

For example, Se and CdS are materials that are harmful to the human body, and special consideration must be given to safety measures when manufacturing them. Therefore, there are problems in that the manufacturing equipment becomes complicated and the manufacturing cost is high, and in particular, Se needs to be recovered, which adds to the recovery cost. Also,
In the se or 5e-Te system, the crystallization temperature is 65°C
Therefore, during repeated copying, problems with the photoconductive properties arise due to residual snow, etc., and therefore, the service life is short and practicality is low.

Furthermore, ZnO is susceptible to oxidation-reduction and is significantly affected by the environmental atmosphere, resulting in a problem of low reliability in use.

Furthermore, organic photoconductive materials such as PVCz and TNF are suspected to be carcinogens and present human health concerns, and organic materials have low thermal stability and abrasion resistance. , has the disadvantage of short lifespan.

On the other hand, amorphous silicon (hereinafter abbreviated as a-8i)
has recently attracted attention as a photoconductive conversion material, and is being actively applied to solar cells, thin film transistors, and image sensors. As part of this application of a-8i, attempts have been made to use a-3i as a photoconductive material for electrophotographic photoreceptors, and photoreceptors using a-3i are collected because they are non-polluting materials. No processing required;
Compared to other materials, it has advantages such as high spectral sensitivity in the visible light region, high surface hardness, and excellent wear resistance and impact resistance.

This a-3i is being studied as a photoreceptor based on the Carlson method, but in this case, the photoreceptor characteristics are required to be high resistance and photosensitivity. Since it is difficult to satisfy the requirements with a photoreceptor, a layered structure is created in which a barrier layer is provided between the photoconductive layer and the conductive support, and a surface charge retention layer is provided on the photoconductive layer. It satisfies these demands.

By the way, a-8i is usually formed by a glow discharge decomposition method using silane gas, but at this time, a-8i is
Hydrogen is incorporated into the 3i antinode, and the electrical and optical properties vary greatly due to the difference in the amount of hydrogen. That is, a-3i11
As the amount of hydrogen that enters increases, the optical bandgap increases and the resistance of A-8i increases, but this also reduces the photosensitivity to long wavelength light, so for example, if a semiconductor laser is mounted It is difficult to use with a laser beam printer. In addition, if there are many hydrogen-containing holes in the a-8i film, depending on the film formation conditions, (S
iH2) and those having bonding structures such as S, iH2, etc. may occupy most of the area in the film. Then,
Due to the increase in voids and silicon dangling bonds, the photoconductive properties deteriorate, making it unusable as an electrophotographic photoreceptor. Conversely, reducing the amount of hydrogen penetrating into a-3i reduces the optical bandgap and its resistance, but increases photosensitivity to long wavelength light. However, if the hydrogen content ω is small, there will be less hydrogen to bond with and reduce silicon dangling bonds. As a result, the mobility of the carriers generated is reduced, the life is shortened, and the photoelectric properties are deteriorated, making it difficult to use as an electrophotographic photoreceptor.

In addition, as a technique to increase the sensitivity to long wavelength light, there is a method of mixing silane-based gas and germane GeH+ and decomposing it with glow lightning to produce a gas with a narrow optical band gap. Gas and GeH+
Since the optimum substrate temperature is different between the two methods, the produced substrate has many structural defects and cannot obtain good photoconductive properties.

Further, waste gas treatment of GeH4 is complicated because it becomes a toxic gas when oxidized. Therefore, such technology is not practical.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and has excellent charging ability, low residual potential, high sensitivity over a wide wavelength range up to the near-infrared region, and It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor that has good adhesion to the substrate and excellent environmental resistance.

[Summary of the Invention] An electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention includes an electrically conductive support, a charge transfer layer formed on the electrically conductive support, and a charge generation layer formed on the charge transfer layer. In the electrophotographic photoreceptor, the charge generation layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm.
The charge transfer layer is formed of amorphous silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and has a layer thickness of 3 to 80 μm.

The present invention was achieved by the inventors of the present invention, who have conducted various experimental studies in order to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art described above and to develop an electrophotographic photoreceptor that has both excellent photoconductive properties (electrophotographic properties) and environmental resistance. As a result, microcrystalline silicon (hereinafter referred to as μ
The present invention was completed based on the idea that this object could be achieved by using C-S+ (abbreviated as C-S+) in at least a portion of an electrophotographic photoreceptor.

[Embodiments of the Invention] The present invention will be specifically described below. The feature of this invention is that μC-S+ is used instead of the conventional a-8i. In other words, all or part of the photoconductive layer is made of microcrystalline silicon (μC-8i).
or a mixture of microcrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon (a-3i), or a laminate of microcrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. Further, in a functionally separated electrophotographic photoreceptor, μC-8i is used for the charge generation layer.

μC-8i is a-
8i and polycrystalline silicon (polycrystalline silicon)
clearly distinguished from That is, in X-ray diffraction measurement, since a-3i is amorphous, only a halo appears;
Although no diffraction pattern can be observed, μC-S i
shows a crystal diffraction pattern in which 2θ is around 27 to 28.5°. Furthermore, the dark resistance of polycrystalline silicon is 10 BΩ・cm, whereas the μc-s r is 10
It has a dark resistance of 11Ω·cm or more. This μc-s r
is formed by aggregation of microcrystals with a grain size of approximately several tens of angstroms or more.

A mixture of μC-8i and a-3i is one in which the crystalline region of μC-8i is mixed in a-3i, and μC-S + and a-3i exist in the same volume ratio. say. In addition, the laminate of μC-8i and 8-3i is mostly a-
3i and a layer filled with μc-sr.

A photoconductive layer having such μc-s r is a-3i
Similarly, it can be produced by depositing μC-SR on a conductive support using silane gas as a raw material by a high frequency glow discharge decomposition method. In this case, if the temperature of the support is set higher than when forming a-3i, and the high frequency power is also set higher than when forming a-3i,
It becomes easier to form μC-S i. Furthermore, by increasing the support temperature and high frequency power, the flow rate of source gas such as silane gas can be increased, and as a result, the film formation rate can be increased.

In addition, by using gas obtained by diluting the raw material gas SiH+ and high-order silane gas such as 5i2Hs with hydrogen,
μC-8i can be formed with higher efficiency.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention. For example, the gas cylinders 1 and 2°3.4 contain SiH+ and B21-1s, respectively.

Source gases such as H2 and CH4 are contained. The gas in these gas cylinders 1, 2, 3, 4 is supplied to a mixer 8 via a valve 6 and piping 7 for adjusting the flow rate. Each cylinder is equipped with a pressure gauge 5, and by monitoring the pressure gauge 5 and adjusting the valve 6, the flow rate and mixing ratio of each raw material gas supplied to the mixer 8 can be adjusted. can. The gases mixed in the mixer 8 are supplied to a reaction vessel 9. A rotating shaft 10 is attached to the bottom 11 of the reaction vessel 9 so as to be rotatable around the vertical direction, and a disk-shaped support 12 is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 10 with its surface perpendicular to the rotating shaft 1o. It has been fixed. Inside the reaction vessel 9, a cylindrical electrode 13 is installed on the bottom 11 with its axial center aligned with the axial center of the rotating shaft 10. A drum base 14 of a photoreceptor is placed on a support base 12 with its axial center aligned with the axial center of the rotating shaft 10, and a heater 15 for heating the drum base is arranged inside the drum base 14. It is set up. A high frequency power source 16 is connected between the electrode 13 and the drum base 14, so that a high frequency current is supplied between the electrode 13 and the drum base 14. The rotating shaft 10 is rotationally driven by a motor 18. The pressure inside the reaction vessel 9 is monitored by a pressure gauge 17, and the reaction vessel 9 is connected via a gate valve 18 to an appropriate evacuation means such as a vacuum pump.

When manufacturing a photoreceptor using an apparatus configured as described above, after installing the drum base 14 in the reaction vessel 9, the gate valve 19 is opened to increase the inside of the reaction vessel 9 to approximately 0.1 Torr. evacuate to below the pressure of r). Next, the required reaction gases from the cylinders 1.2.3.4 are mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio and introduced into the reaction vessel 9. In this case, the gas flow table introduced into the reaction vessel 9 is set so that the pressure inside the reaction vessel 9 is 0.1 to 1 Torr. Next, the motor 18 is operated to rotate the drum base 14, the drum base 14 is heated to a constant temperature by the heater 15, and a high frequency current is supplied between the electrode 13 and the drum base 14 by the high frequency 'Rm16. A glow discharge is formed between the two. As a result, microcrystalline silicon (μC-3i) is deposited on the drum base 14. In addition,
N2 0. "Nt" +,
NO2, N2, 0H4.

These elements can be contained in μC-8i by using C2H4,02 gas or the like.

In this way, the electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention has a conventional a
Similar to those using -3i, it can be manufactured using closed system manufacturing equipment, so it is safe for the human body. Furthermore, this electrophotographic photoreceptor has excellent heat resistance, moisture resistance, and abrasion resistance, so it has the advantage of having a long lifespan with little deterioration even after repeated use over a long period of time. Furthermore, since a long wavelength sensitizing gas such as GeH+ is not required, there is no need to provide waste gas treatment equipment, and industrial productivity is extremely high.

It is preferable that μC-8i contains 0.1 to 30 at % of hydrogen. As a result, the dark resistance and bright resistance become harmonious, and the photoconductive properties are improved. μc-
The optical energy gap Ea of s i is the optical energy gap Ea of a-8i (1,65 to 1.70e
V) is small compared to V). In other words, the optical energy gap of μC-8i changes depending on the crystal grain size and crystallinity of the μC-8i microcrystal, and as the crystal grain size and crystallinity increase, the optical energy gap decreases. The optical energy gap approaches the 1.1ev of crystalline silicon. By the way, μC-8i! The and a-8i layers absorb light with a larger energy than this optical energy gap, and transmit light with a smaller energy. Therefore, a-8i absorbs only visible light energy, but μC-8i, which has a smaller optical energy gap than a-8i, can also absorb near-infrared light, which has a longer wavelength and lower energy than visible light. I can do it. Therefore, μC-8i has high photosensitivity over a wide wavelength range.

μC-8i having such characteristics is suitable as a photoreceptor material for a laser printer using a semiconductor laser as a light source. When this a-3i is used as a photoreceptor for a laser printer, the light wavelength of the semiconductor laser is 790 nm.
Since 3i is longer than the wavelength region in which the sensitivity is high, the sensitivity of the photoreceptor becomes insufficient, and therefore, it is necessary to apply a laser intensity to the photoreceptor that exceeds the ability of the semiconductor laser, which poses a practical problem. On the other hand, when the photoreceptor is formed from μC-8i, its high sensitivity region extends to the near-infrared region, so that it is possible to obtain a photoreceptor for semiconductor laser printers with extremely excellent photosensitivity characteristics.

In order to further improve the photoconductive properties of μC-8i, which has such excellent photosensitivity characteristics, μC
-8i preferably contains hydrogen.

Hydrogen doping into the μC-8i layer can be performed using, for example, 5it-14 and S! by glow discharge decomposition method. 2Hs
Either a silane-based raw material gas such as S
A mixed gas of silicon halide such as 4 and 5iCI+ and hydrogen gas may be used, or a mixed gas of silane-based gas and silicon halide may be used.

Furthermore, μC-8ill can be formed not only by glow discharge decomposition but also by physical methods such as sputtering. Note that the photoconductive N layer containing μC-3i preferably has a thickness of 1 to 80 μm, and more preferably 5 to 50 μm, in view of photoconductive properties.

Substantially the entire region of the photoconductive layer may be formed of μc-sr, or a mixture of a-3i and μc,-8i or i
It may also be formed as a laminate. The charging ability is higher in the laminate, and the photosensitivity is higher in the long wavelength region of the infrared region, although it depends on the volume ratio, in the mixture, and in the visible light region, the two are almost the same.

Therefore, depending on the use of the photoreceptor, substantially all the regions may be made of μC-8i, or may be made of a mixture or a laminate.

Preferably, μC-8i is doped with at least one element selected from nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and oxygen (O). Thereby, the dark resistance of μC-8i can be increased and the photoconductive properties can be improved.

These elements precipitate at the grain boundaries of μC-8i and act as terminators for silicon dangling bonds,
It is thought that the density of states existing in the forbidden band between bands is reduced, thereby increasing the dark resistance.

Preferably, a barrier layer is provided between the conductive support and the photoconductive layer. This barrier layer suppresses the flow of charge between the conductive support and the photoconductive layer, thereby increasing the charge retention function on the surface of the photoconductive member and increasing the charging ability of the photoconductive member. .

In the Carlson method, when the surface of the photoreceptor is positively charged, the barrier layer is made p-type in order to prevent electrons from being injected from the support side to the photoconductive layer. On the other hand, when the photoreceptor surface is negatively charged, a barrier layer is formed to prevent holes from being injected from the support side to the photoconductive layer.
Make it into a mold. It is also possible to form an insulating film on the support as a barrier layer. The barrier layer may be formed using μC-8i, or may be formed using a-3f.

In order to make μC-8i and a-3i p-type, it is necessary to dope them with elements belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table, such as boron B1 aluminum A1, gallium Ga, indium (n, and thallium T1). Preferably μC-8i
In order to make the layer n-type, elements belonging to group V of the periodic table, such as nitrogen N, phosphorus P1 arsenic As, antimony S
It is preferable to dope with b1 and bismuth 3i.

This n-type impurity or doping with n-type impurities prevents charge from moving from the support steel to the photo-S conductor layer.

Preferably, a surface is provided on top of the photoconductive layer.

Since μC-8i of the photoconductive layer has a relatively large refractive index of 3 to 4, light reflection easily occurs on the surface. When such light reflection occurs, the proportion of the amount of light absorbed by the photoconductive layer decreases, increasing optical loss. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a surface layer to prevent reflection. Also, by providing the surface layer, the photoconductive layer is protected from damage. Furthermore, by forming a surface layer, charging ability is improved,
The surface becomes more charged. The materials forming the surface layer are 5iaN+, 5i02, and SiC.

Al2O3, a-8iN:H, a-8iO:H.

and a-8iC;H, and organic materials such as polyvinyl chloride and polyamide.

As described above, a photoconductive member applied to an electrophotographic photoreceptor is formed by forming a barrier layer on a support, a photoconductive layer on this barrier layer, and a surface layer on this photoconductive layer. A charge transport layer (CTL) is formed on the support.
It is also possible to form a functionally separated structure in which a charge generation layer (CGL) is formed on a charge transfer layer. In this case, a barrier layer may be provided between the charge transfer layer and the support. The charge generation layer generates carriers upon irradiation with light. The charge generation layer is preferably made of microcrystalline silicon μC-8i in part or in its entirety and has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm. The charge transfer layer is a layer that allows carriers generated in the charge generation layer to reach the support side with high efficiency, and therefore, the carriers need to have a long life, high mobility, and high transportability. The charge transfer layer can be formed of a-3i. In order to increase dark resistance and improve chargeability, it is preferable to light-dope with an element belonging to either Group Ⅰ or Group V of the periodic table. In addition, the charging ability is further improved,
In order to have the functions of both a charge transfer layer and a charge generation layer,
Any one or more of the elements C, N, and O may be contained. If the charge transport layer is too thin or too thick, it will not function satisfactorily. Therefore, the thickness of the 'R charge transport layer is preferably 3 to 80 μm.

By providing a barrier layer, even in a functionally separated type photoreceptor having a charge transfer layer and a charge generation layer, its charge retention function and charging ability can be improved. In addition,
Whether the barrier layer is n-type or n-type is determined depending on its charging characteristics. This barrier layer may be formed of a-8i or μC-8i.

The invention according to this application is characterized by a charge transport layer.

The charge generation layer has a layer thickness of 3 to 80 μm and is formed of a-8i containing at least one element selected from C, O, and N.
m, and is formed of μc-si containing at least one element selected from C, O, and N. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of an electrophotographic photosensitive member embodying the present invention. In FIG. 2, a charge transfer layer 23 is formed on an aluminum conductive support 21, and a charge transfer layer 23 is formed on an aluminum conductive support 21. A charge generation layer 24 is formed on the transfer layer 23. On the other hand, in FIG. 3, a surface layer 25 is further formed on the charge generation layer 24. Electric charge is generated! ! 24
At least a part thereof is made of μC-8i, and the charge transfer layer 23 is made of a-3i.

Since the charge generation layer 24 is mainly formed of μC-8i, μC-8i has high light absorption in the infrared region, so the photoreceptor can be tilted from the visible light region to the near-infrared [(
For example, high sensitivity can be achieved up to around 790 nm, which is the oscillation wavelength of a semiconductor laser. In other words, μC-8
Since the optical energy gap Ea of i is smaller than the optical energy gap of 1.65 to 1.70 eV of a-8i, it has the function of absorbing near-infrared light and generating charges. Therefore, by using μC-8i in the charge generation layer, it becomes possible to use this photoreceptor in both an RPC (plain paper copying machine) and a laser printer using a semiconductor laser.

μC-8i itself is somewhat n-type, but the charge generation @24 mainly made of μC-8i is lightly doped with elements belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table (10-7 to 10-3 atomic %). By doing so, the charge generation layer 24 becomes an i-type (intrinsic) semiconductor, has a high dark resistance, and improves the S/N ratio and charging ability.

Further, by incorporating at least one element among C, O, and N into the charge generation layer 24 to an extent that photoconductivity does not decrease, charging ability (charge retention function) can be further enhanced. The charge generation layer 24 has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm. When the thickness of the charge generation layer exceeds 10 μm, a long time is required for film formation, and the layer is likely to peel off. on the other hand,
When the thickness of the charge generation layer 24 is less than 1 μm, carrier generation efficiency is low. For the above reasons, the thickness of the charge generation layer 24 is set to 1 to 10 μm, and more preferably 4 to 8 μm.

The charge transfer layer 23 is a layer provided to transport charges generated in the charge generation layer 24 to the support 21 with high efficiency, and is formed of a-3i. By lightly doping this charge transfer layer 23 with an element belonging to Group 1 of the periodic table, its dark resistance can be increased and the charge retention function can be indirectly improved.

Further, the charge transfer layer 23 may contain C, O, and N to the extent that the ημτ product of charges does not decrease. The charge transfer layer is
Ideally, there is no trap (density of states) that traps carriers. Therefore, in order to remove silicon damper jig bonds that become traps, trace amounts of C and O
, N is preferably contained in the charge transfer layer 23. This C,O.

Considering carrier mobility, the amount of N is 20 atomic%.
It is preferable that it is below. The layer thickness of the charge transport layer is 3 to 80 μm. In order to maintain a high chargeability of the charge transfer layer, it is necessary to increase the layer thickness. However, if the charge transfer layer is too thick, it becomes difficult for carriers to travel and it is difficult for the carriers to reach the support. It becomes difficult. For these reasons, the layer thickness of the charge transfer layer 23 is 3 to 80 mm.
μm, preferably 10 to 50 μm, more preferably 15 to 30 μm.

As shown in FIG. 3, a surface layer 2 is placed on the charge generation layer 24.
In the photoconductive member formed with 5, this surface layer 24
is a-3i (a-8iC:H, a-3iO:HSa-8iN:H,
a-3iCN:H, etc.). This results in
Light guide! The surface of the layer is protected, and environmental resistance and charging ability are improved. The content of C, O, and N is preferably 10 to 50 atomic %.

Next, embodiments of the invention will be described.

Example 1 An AI drum (diameter: 80 mm, length: 350 mm) serving as a conductive substrate was degreased with trichlene, washed and dried, and then loaded into a reaction vessel. The surface of this drum is subjected to acid treatment, alkali treatment, or sandblasting treatment as necessary to prevent interference. The inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated using a diffusion pump (not shown) to create a vacuum of about 10 filtration. Thereafter, the drum base is heated and maintained at about 300°C. Next, SiH+ gas at a flow rate of 5008 CCM, and a flow rate ratio of 10-6 to the SiH4 gas flow rate of 8
2 H6 gas and 11005 CC of CH4 gas were mixed and supplied to the reaction vessel. After that, the inside of the reaction vessel was evacuated using a mechanical booster pump and a rotary pump.
The pressure was adjusted to 1 torr. 13.56M)- to the electrode
SiH+, B2 H6 and CH4 were
A charge transport layer 23, which is an amorphous silicon carbide layer, was formed on the support 21 to a thickness of 20 μm. After that, the flow fi of SiH+ gas was increased to 2008ccM18
2 H6(7)S i The flow rate ratio to H4GC is 10-
'The flow rate of CH4 gas was set to 208CCM, and the flow rate of H2 gas was set to 28LM, and these gases were introduced into the reaction vessel. A film was formed by applying 2 KW of power at a reaction pressure of 1.2 Torr, and a 10 μm charge generation layer (μc-sr) was formed.
layer) was formed. Then, C and O were prepared by the same operation.

A-5i containing N was deposited to form a surface layer. When the photoreceptor thus formed was mounted on a laser printer equipped with a semiconductor laser with an oscillation wavelength of 790 nm to form an image, the exposure l on the photoreceptor surface was 25.
Even with e r Q/ci, a clear image with high resolution could be formed.

Furthermore, when the reproducibility and q-stability of the transfer process were investigated by repeated copying, it was demonstrated that the transferred images were extremely good and had excellent corona resistance, moisture resistance, abrasion resistance, etc.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a photoconductive material which has high resistance, excellent charging characteristics, high photosensitivity in the visible light and near-infrared light regions, is easy to manufacture, and has high practicality. A sexual member can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing a photoconductive member according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing a photoconductive member according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1.2.3.4: Cylinder, 5; Pressure gauge, 6; Pulp, 7
; Piping, 8: Mixer, 9; Reaction container, 10: Rotating shaft, 1
3: electrode, 14; drum base, 15; heater, 16; high frequency power supply, 19; gate valve, 21; support, 23;
Charge transport layer, 24; Charge generation layer, 25; Surface layer. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) In an electrophotographic photoreceptor having a conductive support, a charge transfer layer formed on the conductive support, and a charge generation layer formed on the charge transfer layer, the charge The generation layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen and has a layer thickness of 1 to 10 μm, and the charge transfer layer is selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. An electrophotographic photoreceptor characterized in that it is formed of amorphous silicon containing at least one element and has a layer thickness of 3 to 80 μm. (2) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein the charge generation layer contains hydrogen. (3) The charge generation layer belongs to Group III or V of the periodic table.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electrophotographic photoreceptor contains at least one element selected from the elements belonging to the group A. (4) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein the charge transfer layer contains hydrogen. (5) The charge transfer layer belongs to Group III or V of the periodic table.
The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that the electrophotographic photoreceptor contains at least one element selected from the elements belonging to the group A. (6) Any one of claims 1, 4, and 5, wherein the charge transfer layer contains at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The electrophotographic photoreceptor described in . (7) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein a surface layer is formed on the charge generation layer.