JPS6221164A - Electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an electrophotographic sensitive body having excellent electrostatic charging property by forming an electric charge transfer layer and charge generating layer of microcrystalline silicon on a barrier layer and incorporating one kind of the element selected from carbon, nitrogen and oxygen into the charge transfer layer. CONSTITUTION:The barrier layer 22 is formed on a conductive substrate 21 made of aluminum and the charge transfer layer 23, 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 thicknesses and is formed of muC-Si. The electrostatic charge holding function of the photosensitive body of a separated function type having the charge transfer layer and charge generating layer is improved and the electrostatic charging property is improved by providing the barrier layer thereto. The barrier layer may be formed of a-Si or muC-Si.

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-3i)
has recently attracted attention as a photoconductive conversion material, and is being actively applied to solar cells, thin-print transistors, and image sensors. As part of this application of a-8i, attempts have been made to use a-8i as a photoconductive material for electrophotographic photoreceptors, and photoreceptors using a-3i are recycled 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 leading conductive 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-3i is usually formed by a glow discharge decomposition method using silane gas, but at this time, a-3i is
8: Hydrogen is incorporated into the film, and the electrical and optical characteristics vary greatly due to the difference in the amount of hydrogen. That is, as the amount of hydrogen that enters the a-3i film increases, the optical bandgap increases and the resistance of a-3i increases, but as a result, the photosensitivity to long wavelength light decreases. For example, it is difficult to use it in a laser beam printer equipped with a semiconductor laser. In addition, if the hydrogen content in a-8il is high, depending on the film forming conditions, (Si
H2) Those having bonding structures such as n and S i H2 may occupy most of the area in the film. Then,
Due to the increase in voids and silica dangling bonds, the photoconductive properties deteriorate, making it 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 for increasing the sensitivity to long wavelength light, there is a method of mixing silane-based gas and germane QeH4 and decomposing the mixture by glow discharge to produce a film with a narrow optical band gap, but in general, silane-based gas and GeH+
Since the optimum substrate temperature is different between the two methods, the produced film has many structural defects and cannot obtain good photoconductive properties.

Moreover, since the waste gas of Ge)-Is becomes a toxic gas when oxidized, the waste gas treatment is also complicated. Therefore, such technology is not practical.

[Objective of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has improved 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 other objects and has excellent environmental resistance.

[Summary of the Invention] An electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention includes a conductive support, a barrier layer formed on the conductive support, a charge transfer layer formed on the barrier layer, and a charge generation layer formed on the charge transfer layer, wherein the charge generation layer is made of microcrystalline silicon and has a layer thickness of 1 to 10 μm, and the charge transfer layer is It is characterized by being formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and having a layer thickness of 3 to 80 μm.

This 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 (N-photographic properties) and environmental resistance. As a result of stacking, 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 that μC-81 is used instead of the conventional a-3i. In other words, all or part of the photoconductive layer is made of microcrystalline silicon (μC-8i).
It is formed of a mixture of microcrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon (a-s + > which one), or it is formed of a laminate of microcrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. In this electrophotographic photoreceptor, μC-8i is used for the charge generation layer.

μC-8i is a-
3i 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-S +
shows a crystal diffraction pattern in which 2θ is around 27 to 28.5°. Also, the dark resistance of polycrystalline silicon is 106Ω・α, while μC-8i is 1011
It has a dark resistance of Ω・α or more. This μC-3i is formed by an aggregation 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.
-8i exists in a similar volume ratio. Also,
The laminate of μC-8i and a-3i is mostly a-5
A layer consisting of i and a layer filled with μc-s+ are laminated.

A photoconductive layer with such μC-S+ is a-3i
Similarly, it can be produced by depositing μC-3i on a conductive support using silane gas as a raw material using a high frequency glow discharge decomposition method. In this case, the temperature of the support is set higher than when forming a-8i,
If the high frequency power is also set higher than in the case of a-8i, μ
It becomes easier to form C-8i. 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 3i2Hs or the like with hydrogen, μC-8i 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. For example, the gas cylinders 1 and 2°3.4 contain SiH+ and B2Hs, respectively.

Source gases such as H2 and 0H4 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 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. 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 10. 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 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
, 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 flow rate of the gas introduced into the reaction vessel 9 is set such that the pressure inside the reaction vessel 9 is 0.
Set it so that it is 1 to 1 Torr. Next, motor 1
8 to rotate the drum base 14, and
The drum base 14 is heated to a constant temperature, and a high frequency N current is supplied between the electrode 13 and the drum base 14 by the high frequency power supply 16 to form a glow discharge between them. As a result, microcrystalline silicon (μC-8i) is deposited on the drum base 14. Note that N20. NH3, NO2, N2, CH4.

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 -8i, it can be manufactured using closed system manufacturing equipment, so it is safe for the human body. Further, since this electrophotographic photoreceptor has excellent heat resistance, moisture resistance, and abrasion resistance, it has the advantage of having a long service life 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 facilities, and industrial productivity is extremely high.

It is preferable that μC-8+ contains 0.1 to 30 atomic % 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 8i is the optical energy gap Ea of a-3i (1,65 to 1.70 eV
) is small compared to 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 1.1 eV of crystalline silicon. By the way, the μC-Si layer and the a-Si layer 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, absorbs visible light.

It can even absorb near-infrared light, which has a longer wavelength and lower energy. Therefore, μC-8i has high photosensitivity over a wide wavelength range.

μC-St having such characteristics is suitable as a photoreceptor material for a laser printer using a semiconductor laser as a light source. When this a-8i is used as a photoreceptor for a laser printer, the light wavelength of the semiconductor laser is 790 nm and a
Since -8i 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 a photoreceptor is formed from μC-8i, its sensitivity range extends to the near-infrared region, so a photoreceptor for semiconductor laser printers with extremely excellent photosensitivity characteristics can be obtained.

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 the μC-Si layer by the glow discharge decomposition method, S
Either a silane-based raw material gas such as iH+ and Si2H6 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 SiF4 and 5iCI+ and hydrogen gas is introduced into the reaction vessel. 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.
il 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.

Substantially the entire region of the photoconductive layer may be formed of μC-8i, or may be formed of a mixture or a laminate of a-8i and μC-8i. 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-sr is doped with at least one element selected from nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and oxygen (0). 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 also act as terminators of silicon dangling bonds, reducing the density of states existing in the forbidden strokes between bands,
It is thought that this increases 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-8i.

In order to make μC-8i and a-8i p-type, it is preferable to dope them with elements belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table, such as boron B1 aluminum AI, gallium Qa, indium In, and thallium TI. , μC-8i
In order to make the layer n-type, elements belonging to group V of the periodic table, such as nitrogen N, phosphorus P, arsenic AS, antimony S, must be added.
It is preferable to dope b1 and bismuth Bi.

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 light absorbed by the photoconductive layer decreases, resulting in increased light 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. Materials forming the surface layer include Si3N4, SiO2, 5iC1AI2
03, a-8iN;H, a-8iO:H.

and a-3i''C: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. The structure is not limited to one in which a charge transfer layer (CTL) is formed on a support, and a functionally separated structure in which a charge transfer layer (CGL) is formed on a charge transfer layer is also possible. 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,
Light doping with an element belonging to either group or group V is preferred. 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.

If the charge transport layer is too thin or too thick, it will not function satisfactorily. 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 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 μC-8t containing at least one element selected from C, O, and N.
μm and is made of μC-8i. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of an electrophotographic photoreceptor embodying the present invention. In FIG. 2, a barrier layer 22 is formed on an aluminum conductive support 21. A charge transfer layer 23 is formed on the charge transfer layer 22.
A charge generation layer 24 is formed on the layer 3 . On the other hand, the third
In the figure, a surface 1125 is further shown on top of the charge generation layer 24.
is about to form. At least a portion of the charge generation layer 24 is made of μC-8i, and the charge transfer layer 23 is made of μC-8i.
It is made up of 8+.

Since the charge generation layer 24 is mainly made of μC-3i, μC-8i has high light absorption in the infrared region, and therefore the photoreceptor can be used from the visible light region to the near-infrared region (
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, this photoreceptor can be used for both RPC (plain paper copying) and laser printers using semiconductor lasers.

μC-8i itself is somewhat n-type, but the charge generation layer 24 mainly made of μC-3i is doped with elements belonging to Group Ⅰ of the periodic table (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 generation layer 24 to an extent that photoconductivity does not decrease, charging ability (charge retention function) can be further enhanced. The layer thickness of charge generation 11W24 is 1 to 10 μm.
It is. 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 1123 is a layer provided to transfer the charges generated in the charge generation layer 24 to the support 21 with high efficiency, and is made of μC-8i.

By light-doping this charge transfer 1123 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 enhanced. In addition, C, O, etc. are added to the charge transfer layer 23 to the extent that the ημτ product of charges does not decrease.
, N may be contained.

By doping μC-8i with C, O, and N,
The sensitivity to visible light can be increased, and the same effect as a-8i can be expected with addition of 10%.

Ideally, the charge transfer layer does not have traps (density of states) that trap carriers. Therefore, in order to remove silicon dangling bonds that serve as traps, it is preferable that the charge transfer layer 23 contain trace amounts of C, O, and N. The amount of C, O, and N is preferably 20 atomic % or less in consideration of carrier mobility.

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 this reason, charge transfer 1
The layer thickness of 23 is 3 to 80 μm, preferably 10 to 50 μm, and more preferably 15 to 30 μm.

Barrier layer 22 can be formed of μC-8i or a-8ir. μC-5i has high charge mobility and good running properties, but has a relatively slow film formation rate and is somewhat difficult to manufacture. On the other hand, a-8i has relatively low running performance, but is easy to manufacture. In addition, the μc-sr or a-8i constituting the barrier layer is doped with an element belonging to group Ⅰ or group V of the periodic table, so that the barrier layer 22
is a p-type or n-type semiconductor. Its content is
It is preferably 10°3 to 10 at%. When the surface of the photoreceptor is positively charged, the barrier layer is made p-type in order to prevent injection of electrons from the support 21 side. In this case, it is common to make the barrier layer p-type by doping a-8i or μC-8i with B. On the other hand, when using a photoreceptor with negative charge, a-3i or μ
Dope C-8i with P to make it n-type. Furthermore, it is also possible to form a barrier layer by expanding the band gap. In this case, the barrier! 22, C, O
, N.

The content is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 20 at %. This allows charge transport from the support 21 side! Injection of charges and holes into 123 can be effectively prevented, and the charge retention function is significantly improved.

The amounts of C, O, and N are preferably 20% or less in terms of electrophotographic properties. These C, O, N elements are the barrier [1
It is easier to form a film if it is uniformly distributed within 22, but
The concentration may be changed so as to decrease from the support 21 side toward the charge transport layer 23. This allows the charge to move smoothly. a-3i or μc-8i,
In addition to C10°N, the blocking ability can be enhanced by doping with an element belonging to Group Ⅰ or Group V of the periodic table. In addition, a- containing C, O, N
The barrier layer 22 having a blocking ability can also be obtained by layering 8i with 8i and a-8i containing an element belonging to group Ⅰ or group V of the periodic table. The thickness of such barrier layer 21 is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm.

As shown in FIG. 3, in a photoconductive member in which a surface layer 25 is formed on the charge generating FF 124, this surface layer 24 contains at least one element among C, O, and N. a-3i (a-8iC;H, a-8iO:H', a-8iN: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, and N is preferably 10 to 50 atomic %.

Next, embodiments of the invention will be described.

An A1 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. Inside the reaction vessel,
The chamber is evacuated using a diffusion pump (not shown) to a degree of vacuum of about 10 μm. Thereafter, the drum base is heated and maintained at about 300°C. Next, SiH+ gas at a flow rate of 5008 CCM, 82 H6 gas at a flow rate ratio of 10''1 to the SiH+ gas flow rate, and CH4 gas at 1008 CCM 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 300 watts at 13.56 MHz was applied to the electrode to create a SiH+ layer between the electrode and the drum base.
, 82 H8 and CH4 plasma was generated to form a barrier layer 22 made of p-type amorphous silicon carbide on the support 21. After that, the flow rate ratio of 82 H5 to SiH+ was set to 10-6, and roughly 80
Flowing 0 SCCM H2 gas, glow discharge at a reaction pressure of 1.0 Torr and high frequency power of 1 KW, and a 20 μm charge transfer layer (microcrystalline silicon layer containing carbon).
was deposited. Next, the flow rate of SiH+ gas was increased to 2008C.
CM, B2 H6 flow rate ratio to SiH+ is 10-'
, H2 gas flow was set at 28 LM and these gases were introduced into the reaction vessel. A film was formed by applying a power of 2 KW at a reaction pressure of 1.2 Torr to form a charge generation layer (μC-8i layer) 24 with a thickness of 10 μm. Subsequently, a-8i containing C, O, and N was formed into a film by the same operation to form a surface layer. The photoreceptor film formed in this way was
When an image was formed using a laser printer equipped with a semiconductor laser with an oscillation wavelength of nm, it was possible to form a clear image with high resolution even if the exposure amount on the photoreceptor surface was 25 erg/cj. Ta. 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, 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; Valve, 7
: Piping, 8: Mixer, 9; Reaction container, 10; Rotating shaft, 1
3: lFM, 14 Nidram base, 15: heater, 16;
High frequency power supply, 19; Gate pulp, 21; Support, 22
: barrier layer, 23; charge transfer layer, 24: charge generation layer, 25
: Surface layer applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (11)

[Claims] (1) A conductive support, a barrier layer formed on the conductive support, a charge transfer layer formed on the barrier layer, and a charge generation layer formed on the charge transfer layer. In the electrophotographic photoreceptor having a layer, the charge generation layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon and has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm.
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. Photoreceptor. (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 photosensitive material according to claim 1, wherein the barrier layer is formed of microcrystalline silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. body. (8) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein the barrier layer is formed of amorphous silicon containing at least one element selected from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. . (9) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the barrier layer contains hydrogen. (10) The electron barrier layer according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the barrier layer contains an element belonging to group III or group V of the periodic table. Photographic photoreceptor. (11) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1, wherein a surface layer is formed on the charge generation layer.