JPS6381432A - Production of electrophotographic sensitive body - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide superior negative chargeability and electrophotographic characteristics by successively forming amorphous silicon carbide layers as a carrier transferring layer and a carrier generating layer with gaseous C2H2, a gas contg. Si and a gas contg. a group Va element of the periodic table as reactive gases. CONSTITUTION:A reactive gas contg. gaseous C2H2, a gas contg. Si and 0-1mol% gas contg. a group Va element of the periodic table is decomposed by glow discharge to form a carrier transferring layer 5 and a carrier generating layer 3a each made of amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) contg. the group Va element on an electrically conductive substrate 1. The amount of the gas contg. the group Va element of the a-SiC forming reactive gas is made smaller during the formation of the carrier generating layer 3a than during the formation of the carrier transferring layer 5. Thus, a durable sensitive body having superior negative chargeability and electrophotographic characteristics is obtd.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor that has negative charging ability, maintains stable electrophotographic characteristics over a long period of time, and has excellent durability. It is related to.

[Prior art and its problems]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of ultra-high speed copying machines, laser beam printers, etc. has been actively progressing, and as a result, electrophotographic photosensitive drums installed in these devices are required to have stable operating characteristics and durability.

In response to this demand, hydrogenated amorphous silicon is attracting attention because of its excellent wear resistance, heat resistance, pollution-free property, and photosensitivity characteristics.

Such amorphous silicon (hereinafter abbreviated as a-Si)
As an electrophotographic photoreceptor, a laminated type photoreceptor as shown in FIG. 3 has been proposed.

That is, according to FIG. 3, on a conductive substrate (1) such as aluminum, a-St carrier injection blocking N (2), a-S
A photoconductive layer (3) and a surface protection layer (4) are sequentially laminated, and this carrier injection blocking layer (2) is used to prevent carrier injection from the substrate (1) and reduce residual potential. A highly hard material is used for the surface protective layer (4) to increase the durability of the photoreceptor.

However, according to this a-St photoreceptor, the dark resistivity of the a-Si photoconductive layer (3) itself is 10"Ωcm or less, which increases the dark decay rate of this photoreceptor. At the same time, it becomes difficult to increase its own charging ability,
As a result, when this photoreceptor is used for high-speed copying, the problem is that the previous image remains without being completely removed due to the optical memory effect, and the previous image appears when the next image is formed (ghost phenomenon). There is.

In order to solve this problem, a functionally separated photoreceptor as shown in FIG. 1 has been proposed.

That is, according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the basic configuration is a carrier transport layer (5) and a carrier generation Ji! on a conductive substrate (1). (3a) are sequentially laminated, and if desired, carrier injection blocking N (2a) is added between the conductive substrate (1) and the carrier transport layer (5), or surface protection layer I is placed on the carrier generation layer (3a). [(4) is provided. The carrier transport layer (5) is formed of a material having high dark resistance and carrier mobility, thereby providing a high-performance photoreceptor with excellent surface potential and photosensitivity and low residual potential.

For this carrier transport layer (5), it is recommended to use hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide, which has high resistance, wide bandgap, and semiconductor properties.
It has been proposed in Publication No. 192046, etc.

However, in the prior art mentioned above, the charging ability of positive or negative polarity has not been sufficiently researched, and it is almost impossible to put it into practical use due to the electrophotographic characteristics with negative charging ability. The membrane speed was slow, making mass production difficult.

[Purpose of the invention]

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a durable electrophotographic photoreceptor having excellent negative charging ability and electrophotographic properties, that is, excellent dark decay and light decay properties.

Another object of the present invention is to relate to an inexpensive method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor that is excellent in mass productivity by increasing the film formation rate.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor suitable for use in laser printers and having spectral sensitivity to wavelengths in the near-infrared region.

[Means for solving problems]

That is, a reactive gas containing at least a CJt gas, a Si-containing gas, and a gas containing an element of group Va of the periodic table in an amount of 0 to 1 mole χ is decomposed by glow discharge to form a group Va of the periodic table on a conductive substrate.
Provided is a method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of being charged to a negative polarity, characterized in that a carrier generation layer is sequentially provided after forming a carrier transport layer made of amorphous silicon carbide containing a group element.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, at least C2H2 gas, S
A carrier made of amorphous silicon carbide containing a group Va element of the periodic table on a conductive substrate by glow discharge decomposition of a reaction gas containing an i-containing gas and a gas containing a group Va element of the periodic table in an amount of 0 to 1 mole χ A negative electrode characterized in that, after forming the transport layer, a reactive gas consisting of at least a czuz gas and a Si-containing gas is further decomposed by glow discharge to sequentially provide a carrier generation layer made of amorphous silicon carbide on the carrier transport layer. A method for manufacturing a sexually chargeable electrophotographic photoreceptor is provided.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a reaction gas containing at least CZ t+ , a gas, a Si-containing gas, and a gas containing an element of group Va of the periodic table in an amount of O to 1 mole χ is decomposed by glow discharge to form the periodic table on a conductive substrate. A carrier transport layer and a carrier generation layer made of amorphous silicon carbide containing a group Va element are formed, and the proportion of the gas containing a group Va element of the periodic table in the amorphous silicon carbide generating gas when forming the carrier generation layer. Provided is a method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of being charged to a negative polarity, wherein the electrophotographic photoreceptor is smaller than when the carrier transport layer is formed.

The present invention will be explained in detail below.

The electrophotographic photoreceptor manufactured according to the present invention is a functionally separated laminated photoreceptor having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as a basic structure.

According to the present invention, in the above structure, the carrier transport layer has amorphous silicon carbide (hereinafter abbreviated as a-5iC) as a main constituent element, and in order to terminate the dangling bonds of Si and C, for example, H or F ,CI,Br,1
Doping with halogen elements such as Va
By containing group elements within a predetermined range, excellent negative charging ability as a photoreceptor can be imparted. That is, by adding the Group Va element of the periodic table, the carrier transport layer becomes an n-type semiconductor.

Taking the photoreceptor with the configuration shown in FIG. 1 as an example, its electrophotographic characteristics will be explained based on FIGS. 4(a) and (b).
Negative charging is applied by charging means such as corona discharge (Figure 4 (
a)). Next, when exposure is performed, carriers are generated Ji!
(5) Electrons and holes are generated, and the positive charge neutralizes the negative charge on the surface of the photoreceptor, and the electrons migrate through the transport layer and are injected into the substrate side and grounded, making the overall charge of the exposed area zero. Become. (See Figure 4(b)).

As mentioned above, the carrier transport layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor in the present invention is basically made of a-SiC, but
Specifically, it is expressed by the following formula (1) % formula % (1) where 0.01≦X≦0.9, especially 0.05≦
By setting X≦0.5, the dark resistance 10th clI
+ or more.

In addition, the Group Va elements of the periodic table to be added include P+N+
Examples include As and Sb, with P being particularly desirable. These are contained in the carrier transport layer in an amount of O to 10,000 ppm, particularly 0.000 ppm.
It is contained in an amount of 1 to 11000 pp.

The content of H and halogen elements for terminating the dangling bonds of a-SiC in the carrier transport layer is preferably in the range of 5 to 40 atoms χ, preferably 10 to 30 atoms χ in the total composition.

Further, the thickness of this carrier transport layer is preferably set within a range of 1 to 100 μm, preferably 5 to 50 μm, and 1 to 100 μm.
If it is less than 100 μm, the charge retention ability will be poor and the ghost phenomenon will become noticeable, and if it exceeds 100 μm, the image resolution will deteriorate and the residual potential will tend to increase.

Layers other than the carrier transport layer of the photoreceptor in the present invention can be made of well-known photoconductive materials, and the carrier generation layer can be polyvinylcarbazole-based, phthalocyanine-based, perylene-based, Ab-based, or polycyclic quinone-based. organic semiconductors such as Se, 5e-Te, 5e-As+CdS,
ZnS+a-Si:H, a-3iGe:H+a-3iC
Inorganic semiconductors such as the following can be used.

Also, prevents carrier injection! (2a) is the carrier transport N(
5) is provided to prevent carrier injection into organic materials such as polyimide resin, 5iOz, S
iO, AlzO: ++SiC+5iiNt+ In addition to amorphous carbon, it is formed using an inorganic material in which the resistance value is controlled by doping a-St or a-5iC with hydrogen, fluorine, oxygen, nitrogen, or the like. When Si-based or SiC-based materials are used, carrier injection prevention can be further enhanced by adding a group Ma element of the periodic table such as boron or a group Va element such as P within a range of 50 to 5000 pp-. can.

In addition, in the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention, since the carrier transport layer having the composition described above can obtain a sufficiently large dark resistance, it is not necessary to form this carrier injection blocking layer. According to experiments repeatedly conducted by the present inventors, the dark resistivity of the carrier transport layer is 101
It was confirmed that if it was ffiΩ·cm or more, it could be sufficiently put to practical use as an electrophotographic photoreceptor without forming a carrier injection blocking layer.

In addition, various materials can be used for the surface protective layer as long as they themselves have high insulating properties, high corrosion resistance, and high hardness characteristics, such as inorganic materials similar to those used for the carrier injection blocking layer described above. or organic materials can be used, thereby increasing the durability and environmental resistance of the photoreceptor.

The thickness of each layer other than the carrier transport layer is 0.1 to 10 μm for the carrier injection blocking layer and 0.1 μm for the carrier generation layer.
It is desirable to set the thickness of the surface insulating layer to 0.1 to 10 μm.

With the above-described structure, the functionally separated electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention can advantageously make its surface negative polarity by corona discharge, and according to experiments by the present inventors, +60
A charging ability of 0 V or more is obtained, and thus a photoreceptor with no practical problems can be provided.

Next, the present inventors found that the negative charging ability could be further improved by selecting amorphous silicon carbide as a carrier generation layer compatible with the carrier transport layer having the composition described above.

The a-5fC used is expressed by the following formula (2) % formula % (2), where 0.01≦Y≦0.9, especially 0.05
It is desirable that ≦Y≦0.5.

In producing this carrier generation layer, a-SiC is also used.
As mentioned above, it is necessary to use H or a halogen element to terminate the dangling bonds, and the content of these elements is within the range of 5 to 40 atoms χ, preferably 10 to 30 atoms χ in the total composition. All you have to do is make it look like this.

Here, when the content of Group Va elements of the periodic table in the carrier transport layer is O, the carbon f of the a-SiC of the carrier generation layer is
It is necessary that the relationship between iY and carbon iX of a -3iC in the carrier transport layer satisfies X<Y. If X〉Y,
An energy barrier is created between the carrier transport layer and the carrier generation layer, making it difficult for carriers generated in the carrier generation layer to be injected into the carrier transport layer.

As described above, the photoreceptor according to the present invention has photosensitivity to light wavelengths in the range of 300 to 900 nm. By adding elements, the photosensitivity, especially in the near-infrared region, can be increased, making it possible to apply it as a photoreceptor for laser printers. The amount of Group Va elements of the periodic table in the carrier generation layer is 1
0. Although it can be blended in an amount of OOO ppm or less, particularly in the range of 11,000 ppm, it is important that the amount is small compared to the amount of Group Va elements of the periodic table added in the carrier transport layer. When the amount added to the carrier generation layer exceeds the amount added to the carrier transport layer, injection of excited carriers from the carrier generation layer to the carrier transport layer is inhibited, sensitivity decreases, and residual potential increases. This is because in the energy band between the carrier generation layer and the carrier transport layer, the energy level of the carrier generation layer shifts to a lower energy side than that of the carrier transport layer, so when electrons are injected into the carrier transport layer, an energy barrier is created at the interface. This is because it is formed.

The Group Va elements of the periodic table that are used include P, N, As, Sb, etc., as in the case of the carrier transport layer, and P is particularly preferred.

According to the method for producing a photoreceptor of the present invention, an inorganic photoreceptor can be produced by a glow discharge decomposition method, an ion blating method,
Thin film forming techniques such as reactive sputtering, vacuum evaporation, and CVD can be used.

For example, when forming the above-mentioned carrier transport layer of the photoreceptor in the present invention, glow or discharge decomposition methods are preferable, and the gaseous raw material used is 5t) 14,5izH.
St-based gas such as 6,5IJ6, CH<, CJmlC2
H2.

CJ4. A C-based gas such as C5Ha may be used, and furthermore, Hz+lIe+Ne+Ar or the like may be used as a carrier gas. Gas containing Group Va elements of the periodic table is PHi+L+NHs+ASHztASFs+5bHs
etc. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, it has been found that among the above-mentioned gases, when C2H2 is used as the C-containing gas, an extremely high film forming rate (approximately 5 to 20 μm/h) can be obtained. Therefore, preferable reactive gases for forming the carrier transport layer include at least C, II, gas, and Si.
A containing gas and a gas containing 10-' to 1 mole χ of Group Va elements of the periodic table are selected. The specific composition of the reaction gas is (c
It is desirable that the M1 ratio (zo□ gas: Si-containing gas) is from 0.05:1 to 3:1.

According to the present invention, a-SiC is used as a carrier generation layer for the purpose of further improving negative charging ability, but even in the formation of this carrier generation layer, at least C2H
2 gas, a Si-containing gas, may be used in the same composition ratio as when forming the carrier transport layer, and this reactive gas may be decomposed by glow discharge to form on the carrier transport layer.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a-3iC containing Group Va elements of the periodic table is used as a carrier generation layer for the purpose of improving the spectral sensitivity to near-infrared light. As in the case of forming the carrier transport layer, a C2H2 gas, a Si-containing gas, and a gas containing a Group Va element of the periodic table are used, and the gas containing a Group Va element of the periodic table is blended at a ratio of 1 mol 2 or less. For the above-mentioned reasons, it is important that the proportion of the gas containing elements of group Ⅰa of the periodic table in the reaction gas during the formation of the carrier generation layer is smaller than that during the formation of the carrier transport layer.

When a carrier injection blocking layer or a surface protection layer is provided on the photoreceptor of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 or 2, the material thereof is SiC, a-St:II.

When a-SiC, amorphous carbon, or a material doped with impurities is used, the films can be formed continuously using the same film forming apparatus, and the film forming time can be significantly shortened.

In the layer structure of the photoreceptor according to the present invention, when an organic material is used, it can be formed by any well-known means, and specifically, a polymer material or an organic pigment,
It can be provided by a dipping method, a doctor blade method, etc. using a coating liquid in which an organic dye or the like is dissolved or dispersed in a volatile solvent.

Next, a capacitively coupled glow discharge decomposition device used in an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

Note that PH3 gas is used as an example of the gas containing Group Va elements of the periodic table.

Zuoki, 1st. Second. Third. 4th tank (6) (7)
(8) (9) has 5iHn and C2H2+PH, respectively.
5 (33pp pth diluted in Hz gas)
, H2 gas is sealed, and H! is also used as a carrier gas. These gases correspond to the first. Second
．． Third. Fourth regulating valve (10) (11) (12) (1
3) is released by opening the mass flow controller (14) (15) (16) (1
7) and sent to the main pipe (18). Note that (19) is a stop valve.

The gas flowing through the main pipe (18) passes through the reaction tube (2).
A capacitively coupled discharge electrode (21) is installed inside this reaction tube, and the power applied to this is 50-3KW, and the frequency is IMHz.
10MHz to 10MHz is suitable. Inside the reaction tube (20), there is a cylindrical conductive substrate for film formation (2) made of aluminum.
2) is placed on a sample holder (23), this holder (23) is rotated by a motor (24), and the substrate (22) is heated appropriately. It is uniformly heated by means to a temperature of about 50 to 400°C, preferably about 150 to 300°C. Furthermore, the reaction tube (
20) is in a high vacuum state (discharge voltage 0.1 to 2.0 Torr) during the formation of a-Si film or a-SiC film, etc.
It is connected to the rotary pump (25) and the diffusion pump (26) by requiring a.

In the glow discharge decomposition device configured as above,
For example, a P-doped a-5iC film is used as a substrate (22
1.). Second. 3rd゜4th U
Open the EI regulating valves (10), (11), (12), and (13) and set the first. 2nd゜3rd. 4th tank (6) (7)
(8) From (9), S i H, gas, and C21, respectively.
1□ gas, PH3 gas and H□ gas are released, and the amount of these released is controlled by the mass flow controller (10) (11) (
12) The main pipe (18) is regulated by (13).
) to the reaction tube (20), and the interior of the reaction tube (20) is in a vacuum state of 0.1 to 2.0 Torr, the substrate temperature is 50 to 400°C, and the capacitive discharge electrode (21 ), a high frequency power with a frequency of 1 to 1 ONHz is applied at 5 to aKV, and a glow discharge occurs, the gas is decomposed, and P-containing a-5iCM is formed on the substrate at high speed.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below with reference to Examples.

(Example 1) An aluminum drum for a substrate finished to a mirror finish using an ultra-precision lathe using a diamond cutting tool was cleaned by ultrasonic cleaning and steam cleaning using an organic solvent, and then by drying.
It was installed in the reaction tube (20) of the capacitively coupled glow discharge decomposition apparatus shown in FIG.

Then, from the first tank (6), SiH and gas were added at 1001
005e C2H2 gas from the second tank (7) for 20se
cm, PH and gas from the third tank (8) for 200 seconds
m, H2 gas from the 4th tank (9a) for 300 seconds
And 2.5scc of No gas from the 5th tank (9b)
Based on the glow discharge decomposition method described above, a-5iC:H:P:
A carrier injection blocking layer consisting of N:0 was formed.

Furthermore, carrier transport 18(5) consisting of a-5iC, a-S was carried out sequentially using the same device under the conditions shown in Table 1.
A carrier generation layer (3a) made of i and a surface protection layer (4) made of SiC were formed to obtain a photoreceptor having a thickness of 30 μm.

When the surface potential, dark decay, and light decay characteristics of the electrophotographic photoreceptor thus obtained were measured, the results shown in FIG. 6 were obtained. This is negatively charged by corona discharge of -5.6 KV in the dark, and changes in the surface potential with time in the dark and 6
The figure shows the change in surface potential over time immediately after irradiation with 50 nm monochromatic light (exposure amount 0.3 μ-'/cm"). In the figure, A is the dark decay curve and B is the light decay curve. be.

As is clear from Figure 6, the surface potential after 2 seconds of exposure is approximately -
The voltage is 600V, which is high enough for practical use, and as a result of the filling, the surface potential becomes smaller instantly than the exposure, and the residual potential also becomes significantly smaller.

When a positive charge of +5.6 KV was applied to the photoreceptor in a prisoner, the chargeability was only +70 V, which was not practical.

(Example 2) Next, SiH4+Hz+C2H2 and PH were prepared in the same manner as in Example 1.

a-Si at the flow rates shown in Table 2 using each of the gases.
:l(:P:N:O carrier injection blocking layer, a-
Carrier transport layer (5) consisting of 3iC (X=0.3)
, a carrier-generating Jli (3a) made of a-SiC (Y #0.15) and a surface protection N (4) made of SiC were formed to obtain a photoreceptor with a thickness of 30 μm.

The obtained photoreceptor was charged with a corona discharge of -5.6 KV in the same manner as in Example 1), and dark decay and light decay were measured.
The results shown in Figure 7 were obtained.

As is clear from FIG. 7, it exhibited excellent negative chargeability of -680V.

(Example 3) Next, in the same manner as in Example 1, using each gas of 5iHa + Hz + C2H2 and PH3, a at the flow rate shown in Table 3.
- a carrier injection blocking layer consisting of Si:H:P:N:0;
A carrier transport layer (5) made of a-SiC doped with about 20 ppm of P, a carrier generation layer (3a) made of a-5i, and a surface protection layer 11 (4) made of SiC were formed, and a 30 μl thick layer was formed. A photoreceptor was obtained.

The obtained photoreceptor was charged with a corona discharge of -5.6 KV in the same manner as in Example 1), and dark decay and light decay were measured.
The results shown in Figure 8 were obtained.

As is clear from FIG. 8, it exhibited excellent negative chargeability of approximately 650V.

(Example 4) 5iHa, Hz+CtHb and P
Using H, gas, a-5i:H at the flow rate shown in Table 4.
:P:N:0 carrier injection blocking layer, approximately 20pp
Carrier transport Ji made of a-3iC doped with m P (5) Carrier generation layer made of a-SiC (3a)
and a surface protection N (4) made of SiC with a thickness of 3
A photoreceptor with a diameter of 0 μm was obtained.

The obtained photoreceptor was charged by corona discharge at -5.6 KV in the same manner as in Example 1), and the dark attenuation and light attenuation were measured, and the results shown in FIG. 9 were obtained.

As is clear from FIG. 9, it exhibited excellent negative chargeability of -750V, and it was confirmed that the negative chargeability was improved by using a-9iC as the carrier generation layer.

(Example 5) Using SiH*+To+Ct)li and PH3 gases in the same manner as in Example 1, a-St at the flow rates shown in Table 5:
Carrier injection blocking layer consisting of H:P:N:0, about 20p
Carrier transport N(5) made of pIll P-doped a-SiC, about 10 ppm P-doped a
A carrier generation layer (3a) made of -SiC and a surface protection N (4) made of SiC were formed to obtain a photoreceptor having a thickness of 30 μm.

The obtained photoreceptor was charged by corona discharge at -5 and 6 V in the same manner as in Example 1), and the dark attenuation and light attenuation were measured, and the results shown in FIG. 10 were obtained.

As is clear from FIG. 10, it exhibited excellent negative chargeability of -760 cm.

Next, the spectral sensitivity of the photoreceptors manufactured in (Example 1) to (Example 5) was determined using light with a wavelength of 770 nm.
(Example 1) is 0.18cm/erg, (Example 2) is 0°1
5cm/erg, (Example 3) is 0.20cn+”/er
g, (Example 4) is 0°16co+”/erg, (
Example 5) was 0.23 cm"/erg.

From this result, it was confirmed that the layer structure of (Example 5) significantly improved sensitivity.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail, the method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention uses at least C, H, gas, Si-containing gas, and gas containing a Group Va element of the periodic table as a reactive gas, and a periodic carrier transport layer as a carrier transport layer. Negative polarity can be achieved by sequentially forming an amorphous silicon carbide containing an element of group Ma of the periodic table, an amorphous silicon carbide as a carrier generation layer, or an amorphous silicon carbide layer containing a specific amount of an element of group A of the periodic table. It is possible to obtain an electrophotographic photoreceptor with excellent charging ability and electrophotographic properties, and it is also possible to significantly improve the film formation rate, so it is excellent in mass productivity. Moreover, the application for laser printers can also be expanded.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the layer structure of a photoreceptor used in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the layer structure of a photoreceptor used in another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 4(a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining the electrophotographic characteristics of the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the general layer structure of the photoreceptor. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a capacitively coupled glow discharge and a light attenuation curve used in an example. 1...Substrate 2.2a...-Carrier injection blocking layer 3.38...Carrier generation layer 4...Surface protection layer 5...Carrier transport layer Patent applicant (663) Kyocera Corporation Takao Kawamura

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Glow discharge decomposition of a reactive gas containing at least C_2H_2 gas, Si-containing gas, and gas containing 0 to 1 mol% of Group Va elements of the periodic table to contain Group Va elements of the periodic table on a conductive substrate. 1. A method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of being charged to a negative polarity, comprising forming a carrier transport layer made of amorphous silicon carbide, and then sequentially providing a carrier generation layer. (2) Glow discharge decomposition of a reactive gas containing at least C_2H_2 gas, Si-containing gas, and gas containing 0 to 1 mol% of Group Va elements of the periodic table to contain Group Va elements of the periodic table on a conductive substrate. After forming a carrier transport layer made of amorphous silicon carbide, a reactive gas made of at least C_2H_2 gas and a Si-containing gas is further decomposed by glow discharge to sequentially provide a carrier generation layer made of amorphous silicon carbide on the carrier transport layer. A method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor that can be charged to a negative polarity. (3) Glow discharge decomposition of a reactive gas containing at least C_2H_2 gas, Si-containing gas, and gas containing 0 to 1 mol% of Group Va elements of the periodic table to contain Group Va elements of the periodic table on a conductive substrate. A carrier transport layer and a carrier generation layer made of amorphous silicon carbide are formed, and the amorphous silicon carbide generation gas at the time of forming the carrier generation layer is formed according to Va of the periodic table.
1. A method for producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor capable of being charged to a negative polarity, characterized in that a proportion of a group element-containing gas is smaller than when forming the carrier transport layer.