JPS6221163A - Electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an electrophotographic sensitive body having excellent electrostatic charging property by forming an electric charge generating layer and charge transfer layer of microcrystalline silicon contg. one kind of the element selected from carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. CONSTITUTION:The charge transfer layer 23 is formed on a conductive substrate 21 made of aluminum and the charge generating layer 24 and further a surface layer 25 are formed thereon. The charge transfer layer has 3-80mum layer thickness and is formed of muC-Si contg. at least one kind of the element selected from C, O and N and the charge generating layer has 1-10mum layer thickness and is formed of muC-Si contg. at least one kind of the element selected from C, O and N. The electrostatic charging property (electrostatic charge holding function) is additionally improved by incorporating at least one kind of the element among C, O and N into the charge generating layer 24 to the extent of not decreasing photoconductivity. The electrostatic charge holding function is indirectly improved if C, O and N are incorporated into the charge transfer layer 23.

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 bronze of the invention and its problems] Conventionally, inorganic materials such as CdS, ZnO, Se, 5e-Te, or amorphous silicon, or poly-N-vinylcarbazole have been used as materials for forming the leading T1 layer of electrophotographic photoreceptors. (PVCz) or trinitrofluorene (
Organic materials such as TNF) are used. However, these conventional photoconductive materials have various problems in terms of photoconductive properties and manufacturing, and it is necessary to use these materials depending on the purpose of use, sacrificing some of the characteristics of the photoreceptor system. There is.

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 Se or 5e-7e system, the crystallization temperature is 65℃
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-51)
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;
The surface li! has higher spectral sensitivity in the visible light region than other materials. It has advantages such as high hardness and excellent abrasion resistance and WJ impact resistance.

This a-8i 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-8t is usually formed by a glow discharge decomposition method using silane gas, but at this time, a-8t is
Hydrogen is incorporated into the 8ill, and the electrical and optical characteristics vary greatly due to the difference in the amount of hydrogen. That is, a-8tl
As more hydrogen enters the a-8i, the optical bandgap becomes larger and the resistance of the a-8i becomes higher, but this also reduces the photosensitivity to long wavelength light. Difficult to use with mounted laser beam printer. Also, a-81
If the hydrogen content in the abdomen is high, depending on the film forming conditions,
Those having bonding structures such as (SfH2)n and S i H2 may occupy most of the area in the film. In this case, voids increase and silicon dangling bonds increase, resulting in deterioration of photoconductive properties and rendering the material unusable as an electrophotographic photoreceptor. Conversely, reducing the amount of hydrogen penetrating into a-8i reduces the optical band gap and its resistance, but increases photosensitivity to long wavelength light. However, when the hydrogen content is low, there is less hydrogen to combine with and reduce silicon dangling bonds. For this reason, the mobility of the generated carriers is reduced, the life span is shortened, and the photoconductive properties are deteriorated, making it difficult to use as an electrophotographic photoreceptor.

As a technique to increase the sensitivity to long wavelength light, there is a method of mixing silane-based gas and germane GeH4 and performing glow discharge decomposition to produce a film with a narrow optical bandgap. and GeH4
Since the optimum substrate temperature is different between the two methods, the produced film 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 has been 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 11 with!
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor that is easy to eat and has excellent environmental resistance.

[Summary of the Invention] The storage electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention includes a conductive support, a charge transfer layer formed on the S'R support, and a charge transfer layer formed on the charge transfer layer. In the electrophotographic photoreceptor having a charge generation layer, the charge generation layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.
The charge transfer layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and has a layer thickness of 3 to 80 μm.
It is characterized by having a layer thickness of .

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-8i (abbreviated as C-8i) for 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 1. μC-81 is used instead of the conventional A-8i. In other words, all or some regions of the photoconductive layer are formed using microcrystalline silicon (μC-8i).
), a mixture of microcrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon (a-8+'), 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-8i is amorphous, only a halo appears;
Although no diffraction pattern can be observed, μC-8i shows a crystal diffraction pattern with a 2θ of around 27 to 28.5°. Also, the dark resistance of polycrystalline silicon is 106Ω・C11, whereas μC-8i is 101
It has a dark resistance of 1Ω·1 or more. This μC-8i is formed by agglomeration of microcrystals having a grain size of approximately several tens of angstroms or more.

A mixture of μC-8i and a-8i is a mixture in which the crystalline region of μC-3i is mixed in a-8i, and μC-8i and a-8i are mixed together.
-3i exists in a similar volume ratio. Also,
The laminate of μC-8i and a-3i is mostly a-8
A layer consisting of i and a layer filled with μC-8i! ! 4
Refers to things that are layered.

Similar to a-8i, a photoconductive layer containing μC-8i can be produced by depositing μC-8i on a conductive support using silane gas as a raw material using a high-frequency glow discharge decomposition method. can. In this case, if the temperature of the support is set higher than when forming a-5i and the high frequency power is also set higher than when forming a-8i, μ
It becomes easier to form C-5i. 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, the raw material gas SiH
By using a gas obtained by diluting a high-order silane gas such as + and 5izH6 with hydrogen, μC-S + can be formed with even higher efficiency.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention. Gas cylinders 1 and 2°3.4 are filled with, for example, SfH+ and B2 Ha, respectively.

Raw material gases such as H2 and CH4 are stored. The gas in these gas cylinders 1.2.3.4 is supplied to a mixer 8 via a valve 6 and piping 7 for flow rate adjustment. A pressure gauge 5 is installed in each cylinder, and by adjusting the pulp 6 while monitoring the pressure gauge 5, 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. Bottom 11 of reaction vessel 9
A rotating shaft 10 is attached to the rotating shaft 10 so as to be rotatable around the vertical direction, and a disk-shaped support 12 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 10 with its surface perpendicular to the rotating shaft 10. . 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 the apparatus configured as described above, after installing the drum base 14 in the reaction vessel 9, the gate valve 19 is opened to control the inside of the reaction vessel 9 at approximately 0.1 Torr. Evacuate to below pressure. Next, cylinder 1
．． From 2.3.4, the required reaction gases are mixed at a predetermined mixing ratio and introduced into the reaction vessel 9. In this case, reaction vessel 9
The gas flow rate introduced into the reaction vessel 9 is such that the pressure inside the reaction vessel 9 is 0.1.
Set it so that it is between 1 Torr and 1 Torr. Next, the motor 18
is activated to rotate the drum base 14, the heater 15 heats the drum base 14 to a constant temperature, and the high frequency power supply 16 supplies a high frequency current between the electrode 13 and the drum base 14 to create a glow between them. form a discharge.

As a result, microcrystalline silicon (μC-8:) is deposited on the drum base 14. Note that N20. NH3, NO2, N2, CH4.

These elements can be contained in μC-8i by using C284,02 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 + is the optical energy gap Ea of a-8i (1,65 to 1.708
V) is small compared to V). In other words, the optical energy gap of μC-8i changes depending on the grain size and crystallinity of μC-S + microcrystals, and as the grain size and crystallinity increase, the optical energy gap decreases. , approaches the optical energy gap of crystalline silicon, 1.1 eV.

By the way, μc-s r and a-3i11 absorb light with a larger energy than this optical energy gap, and transmit light with a smaller energy. For this reason, a-8
i absorbs only visible light energy, but μC-8i, which has a smaller optical energy gap than a-'3i, can even absorb near-infrared light, which has a longer wavelength and lower energy than visible light. Therefore, μC-S + 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 8i is longer than the wavelength range in which it is highly sensitive, 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-3i, which has such excellent photosensitivity characteristics, it is preferable to incorporate hydrogen into μC-3i. For example, when hydrogen is doped into μC-8il by the glow discharge decomposition method, S
Either a silane-based raw material gas such as iH+ and 5i2Hs and a carrier gas such as hydrogen are introduced into the reaction vessel to cause glow discharge, or a mixed gas of silicon halide such as S i F4 and 5iCI4 and hydrogen gas is introduced. You can use
Alternatively, the reaction may be performed using a mixed gas of a silane gas and a silicon halide. Furthermore, μC-8 can be obtained not only by the glow discharge decomposition method but also by physical methods such as sputtering.
An i-layer can be formed. In view of photoconductive properties, the photoconductive layer containing μC-8i preferably has a thickness of 1 to 80 μm, and more preferably 5 to 50 μm.

The photoconductive layer may be formed in substantially all areas of μC-8i, or may be formed of a mixture of a-8i and μC-5i or 8i.
It may be formed in layers. The charging ability is higher in the laminate,
Although the photosensitivity depends on the volume ratio, the mixture is higher in the long wavelength region of the infrared region, and the two are almost the same in the visible light region.

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 till 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 it may be formed using a-3i.

In order to make μC-8i and a-5i p-type, it is possible to dope them with elements belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table, such as boron B, aluminum AI, gallium Ga, indium ln, and thallium TI. Preferably μC-8i
In order to make the layer n-type, elements belonging to group V of the periodic table, such as nitrogen N1 phosphorus P1 arsenic AS, antimony S
It is preferable to dope with b1, bismuth 81, or the like.

This n-type impurity or doping with n-type impurities prevents charges from moving from the support side to the photoconductive layer.

Preferably, a surface layer 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 material forming the surface layer is Si3 N4.5i02.5iC1AI2
03, a-8iN:H, a-8iO:H1 and a-8
There are inorganic compounds such as iC: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, forming a leading N layer on this barrier layer, and forming a surface layer on this photoconductive layer. Charge transport layer (CTL) on the support
It is also possible to form a functionally separated structure in which a charge generation IN (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 transport layer can be formed of μC-8i. In order to increase dark resistance and improve charging ability,
It is preferable to light-dope an element belonging to either group or group Ⅰ. Furthermore, in order to further improve the charging ability and to have the functions of both a charge transfer layer and a charge generation layer, one or more of the elements C, N, and O may be contained.

Charge transfer am does not fully exhibit its function if the film thickness is too thin or too thick. Therefore, the thickness of the 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 p-type or n-type is determined depending on its charging characteristics. This group W11I! is a-3
It may be formed of i or μC-8i.

The invention according to this application is characterized by charge transfer 1111.

μC-S + whose layer thickness is 3 to 80 μm and contains at least one element selected from C, O, and N.
The charge generation layer has a thickness of 1 to 1
0 μm and is formed of μC-8i containing at least one element selected from C, O, and N. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of an electrophotographic photoreceptor embodying the present invention. In FIG. 2, a charge transfer layer 23 is formed on an aluminum conductive support 21, and a Electric charge is generated on the moving Wi23! 124 is formed. On the other hand, in the third cause, the charge generation layer 2
A further surface 1!25 is formed on top of 4. Electric charge is generated! ! At least a portion of 24 is made of μC-5i, and charge transfer 123 is made of μC-3i.

Since the charge generation M24 is mainly formed of μC-8i, μC-8i has high light absorption in the infrared region, and therefore the photoreceptor is exposed to visible light f! 4 to near-infrared region (for example, 790 nm, which is the oscillation wavelength of a semiconductor laser)
Sensitivity can be increased up to (near). In other words, μC
-8i has an optical energy gap Ea of a-3i
Optical energy gap of 1.65. ~1.70eV
Since it is smaller than , it has the function of absorbing near-infrared light and generating electric charges. Therefore, by using μC-8i in the charge generation layer, this photoreceptor can be used in both RPC (plain paper copying) and laser printers using semiconductor lasers.

μC-3i itself is somewhat n-type, but the charge generation 124 mainly consists of μc-sr.
Lightly doped with elements belonging to the group (10-7 to 10-3
%), 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 generating WII 24 to an extent that photoconductivity does not decrease, the charging ability (charge retention function) can be further enhanced. The layer thickness of the charge generating Ji24 is 1 to 10μ.
It is m. When the thickness of the charge generation layer exceeds 10 μm, it takes a long time to form the layer and the layer tends 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 transfer charges generated in the charge generation layer 24 to the support 21 with high efficiency, and is made of μC-8i.

By lightly doping this charge transfer@23 with an element belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table, its dark resistance can be increased and the charge retention function can be indirectly enhanced. In addition, the charge transfer layer 23 includes C, O,
N may be included.

By doping μC-3i with C, 0, and N, the sensitivity to visible light can be reduced by 10%.
The same effect as a-8i can be expected by adding . Ideally, the charge transfer layer does not have traps (density of states) that trap carriers. Therefore, in order to remove the silicon dangling bonds that become traps, a small amount of C, O, and N are transferred! ! It is preferable to include it in No. 23. The amount of C, O, and N is preferably 20 atomic % or less in consideration of carrier mobility. The FIJ 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 μm, preferably
10 to 50 μm1, more preferably 15 to 30 μm
It is.

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-8i (a-8iC; Hla-8iO; Hla
-3iN;H, a-8iCN;H, etc.). This protects the surface of the photoconductive layer and improves environmental resistance and charging ability. The content of C, O, N is 10
The content is preferably from 50 at.%.

Next, embodiments of the invention will be described.

After degreasing an A1 drum (diameter 80 mm, length 350 mm) as a conductive substrate with trichloride, washing and drying it, it was loaded into a reaction vessel. treatment, alkali treatment or sandblasting to prevent interference. Inside the reaction vessel,
The mixture is evacuated using a diffusion pump (not shown) to bring the vacuum level to about 10 degrees. Thereafter, the drum base is heated and maintained at about 300°C. Then 5it-I with a flow rate of 5008CCM
+ gas, the flow rate ratio to this SiH4 gas flow rate is 10-
8 of 82 Hs gas, 11005 CC of CH4 gas and 700 SCCM of H2 gas were mixed and supplied to the reaction vessel. Thereafter, the inside of the reaction vessel was evacuated using a mechanical booster pump and a rotary pump, and the pressure was adjusted to 1 Torr. A high frequency power of 1.5 KW at 13.56 MHz is applied to the electrode, and Si
Plasma of H4, H2, B2 Hs, and CH4 was generated to form a charge transfer layer 23 having a thickness of 20 μm as a μC-8i layer containing carbon on the support 21.

After that, the flow rate of SiH+ gas was set to 2008 CCM.

82 Hs (7) S i H4 two-to-one flow [1 ratio to 1
0-7, the flow rate of CH4 gas was set to 20SCCM, 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-s+
m) was formed. Then, by similar operation, C,0,
A-8i 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 amount of exposure on the surface of the photoreceptor was 258 nm.
Even with rQ/cd, a clear image with high resolution could be formed. Furthermore, when the reproducibility and stability of the transfer process were investigated by repeated copying, it was demonstrated that the transferred images were extremely good (1) and were excellent in corona resistance, moisture resistance, abrasion resistance, etc.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the charging characteristics are cloudy due to the A resistance, the light sensitivity characteristics are high in the visible light and near-infrared light regions, the manufacturing is easy, and the light is highly practical. A conductive 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; Valve, 7
; Piping, 8; Mixer, 9; Reaction container, 10; Rotating shaft, 1
3; Electrode, 14; Drum base, 15; Heater, 16: High frequency 'R source, 19: Gate valve, 21; Support, 23
; Charge transfer layer, 24; Charge generation layer, 25: Surface layer Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue iWJ

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 microcrystalline 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 4, 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.