JPS60254048A - Electrophotographic photoreceptor and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Objective) (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor used in electronic copying machines, laser printers, etc., and a method for manufacturing the same.

(Conventional Wave Technique) Materials commonly used for electrophotographic photoreceptors are photoconductive materials such as zinc oxide, selenium, and cadmium sulfide. Recently, amorphous silicon (hereinafter referred to as a-5i) as a new material has attracted attention for its excellent features such as heat resistance, durability, and low toxicity, and active research and development is being carried out.

N alloy drums are the mainstream substrate material, but they are lighter and lighter.
In order to reduce the size, the flexible film belt may be made into a ring shape.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in this case, it is necessary to glue both ends of the belt in order to make it into a ring shape, and copying cannot be performed at the glued portion. Therefore, a special synchronization mechanism is required for the optical system and the photoreceptor drive system, resulting in a complicated structure. Also, as it peels off from the seams over time,
It had a short lifespan and had problems with reliability.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a photoreceptor and a method for manufacturing the same, which can solve the above problems and simplify the optical system and drive mechanism.

(Structure) (Means and effects for solving the problems) That is, the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention has no seams by forming an amorphous silicon film on a seamless annular flexible film substrate. The result is a photoreceptor with no
.

Further, the method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention includes forming an electrode on the surface of an annular flexible film substrate while moving it, and then moving the substrate within the same apparatus. It is possible to form an electrode and amorphous silicon layer with a uniform thickness by forming a seamless amorphous silicon layer while changing the thickness, and to form the electrode and the amorphous silicon layer in the same film forming apparatus. This prevents oxidation of the electrode and prevents peeling at the interface.

The present invention will be described in detail below along with examples. FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a sectional view of a photoreceptor according to an embodiment of the present invention. (2o) in FIG. 1 is an annular photoreceptor belt, and (21) in FIG. 2 is a seamless flexible film substrate (21) using polyimide for the annular belt. The conditions required for a flexible film include having sufficient flexibility, having sufficient mechanical strength2, having heat resistance of 100℃ or more, and being able to be molded seamlessly during film production. , materials other than polyimide include polyester, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone,
Examples include polysulfone and electron beam crosslinked polyester. Although Ti was used for the electrode (22), T
AI besides i! , Cu, Cr, Pd, and metal compounds such as 5nOz, CrOz, ITO.

The blocking layer (26) is a blocking layer for preventing injection of carriers from the substrate.

The a-5i layer (24) is a photoconductive layer. The total film thickness of the photoconductive layer and blocking layer was set to 4 μm in consideration of the withstand voltage and flexibility of the film, but preferably 2 μm to 15 μm.
is within the range of In addition, other elements (oxygen, nitrogen, boron, tin, phosphorus, germanium, carbon) may be added to improve copying characteristics, that is, photosensitivity, spectral characteristics, acceptance potential, charge retention, residual potential, etc. good.

The method for manufacturing the photoreceptor of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a deposition apparatus that embodies the film forming method of the present invention. The deposition device (1) includes R'F electrodes (3-1) and (3-2) that form an electric field for forming plasma, a crucible for vacuum evaporation (4), and a heater for heating the crucible (5).
, substrate heating heater (6), substrate support roller (7-
1), (7-2), (7-3), (7-4L substrate driving roller (7-5).

C776) is provided. The deposition device (1) also has a gas introduction pipe (8) for introducing gas for film formation.
And an exhaust pipe (9) for exhausting gas is connected. The RF electrode (3-1) is connected to a high frequency power source (11) by a lead wire, and the high frequency (RF)
It is possible to add electricity.

To form a film using the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, first close the gas flow rate adjustment valve (1), fully open the main valve (12), and reduce the pressure in the deposition chamber (2) using the exhaust device (16). In the state, the board driving roller (7-5>
, <7-6>, while moving the film substrate (17) at a predetermined speed, the film substrate is heated by the substrate heating heater to sufficiently release the gas contained inside the film substrate, thereby forming a film. Make preparations.

When a predetermined degree of vacuum is reached, the crucible in which the desired metal is prepared is heated by the crucible heating heater (5) to deposit the desired metal on the substrate film to a predetermined thickness, and the electrode layer (
22). Once the film reaches the desired thickness, the crucible heater (
5) Turn off (OFF, ).

Next, six valves (14-1), (14-2), (1
Fully open the desired valve in 4-3) and check the gas flow meter (
While checking the flow rate with the gas flow rate adjustment valve (18),
) to adjust the flow rate of gas from the gas cylinder (15) and introduce it into the deposition chamber (2). After the gas is introduced, when the pressure inside the deposition chamber reaches a predetermined level, the RF electrode (3=1),
(3-2) is supplied with a predetermined power from a high frequency power source (11).

This causes a glow discharge to form a plasma atmosphere of gas for forming a deposited film, and a film is formed on the substrate placed in the plasma.

(Example) In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, an example in which an a-3i film was formed using an apparatus similar to that shown in FIG. 3 will be shown below.

As described above, the substrate driving rollers (7-5,), (7
-6) Thickness: 425 cotton, width: 30G.

A polyimide film substrate with an outer circumference of 80 cm is moved at a speed of 200 cm by the substrate heating heater (6).
The deposition chamber (2) was heated to 1 x 10°C for about 30 minutes.
This state was maintained at a vacuum of 4 to 10<-3> Torr.

After doing this, the Ti crucible (4) prepared with Ti was heated to form a Ti film with a thickness of 2000 A'. At this time, the degree of vacuum in the deposition chamber (1) was set to be in the range of 3 to 5 x 10 Torr. After that, the valve (14-1), (
14-2) and (14-3) fully open and the 5iH4 (silane) gas flow rate is 1gSC with the gas flow rate adjustment valve (19).
CM also hydrogen diluted 500 pplTl B2H6(')
The borane) gas flow rate was adjusted to 605 CCM, and the hydrogen gas flow rate was adjusted to 11005 CC.

At this time, the degree of vacuum in the deposition chamber (1) was adjusted to a range of 0.1 to 1 Torr by adjusting the main valve (12).

In this state, turn on the high frequency power supply (11),
13.56 MHz, 2 Q OW (7
) Apply power.

This continued for 10 minutes. After this, the valve (14-2)
, (14-3) is closed, and the gas flow rate is adjusted to the valve (19-1).
) to adjust the SiH4 flow rate to 1505 CCM and
This continued for 0 minutes to obtain an a-5i film with a total thickness of 10 μm.

In the examples, the electrodes were deposited on the film substrate by vacuum evaporation, but other methods such as ion blating and sputtering may also be used. Furthermore, although the a-5i layer and the blocking layer were formed by plasma CVD, they may be formed by methods such as ion blasting and sputtering.

(Effects) Table 1 shows the performance comparison results between the photoreceptor according to the embodiment of the present invention and a conventional belt-shaped photoreceptor with seams. In order to examine durability, the photoreceptor of the present invention was installed in an electronic copying machine, and copies were made repeatedly to examine deterioration of the photoreceptor.

As a result, in the conventional method, cracks appeared at the joints of the photoreceptor belt after 5,000 bars of copying, and the entire surface peeled off after 30,000 copies, but with the photoreceptor belt of the present invention, changes occurred even after 60,000 copies. I was able to make clear copies. This is because there is no seam and the electrode, blocking layer, and a-3i layer are formed using the same device, which improves adhesion. Furthermore, because the film was formed while moving the belt, the film thickness distribution was improved, and conventionally the limit was ±5%, but with the present invention, it has been improved to ±0.1 inch, making more stable copying possible. .

The present invention has been explained above in Table 1, and the present invention has the following effects.

(Effects of the Invention) The photoreceptor according to the present invention has improved durability by 10 times or more and film thickness distribution by 50 times or more compared to the conventional photoreceptor, and has improved reliability. Additionally, since there is no seam in the photoreceptor, the optical system and photoreceptor drive mechanism are simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the photoreceptor of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the photoreceptor of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one preferred example of a deposition apparatus that embodies the film forming method of the present invention. (1) Deposition device, (2) Deposition chamber, (3)
... RF electrode, (4) ... Crucible, (5) ... Heater for heating the crucible, (6) ... Heater for heating the substrate, (7-1 to 7-4) ... For supporting the substrate Laura, (7-5
), (7-6)...Board driving roller, (8)...
・Gas introduction pipe, (9)...Gas exhaust pipe, (10)...Valve, (11)...High frequency power supply, (12)...Main valve, (13)...Exhaust device , (14)... Valve, (15)... Gas cylinder, (16)... Lead wire, (17)... Board, (18)... Flow meter, (19
)...flow rate adjustment valve, (20)...annular photoreceptor belt, (21)...flexible film substrate, (22)...electrode, (23)...blocking layer, (24)... )...a
-3i layer Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) An electrophotographic photoreceptor characterized in that an amorphous silicon film is seamlessly formed on a seamless annular flexible film substrate. (2) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim (1), wherein the flexible film is a polymer film. (3) The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim (2), wherein the polymer film is a polyimide film. (4) In manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor in which amorphous silicon is seamlessly deposited on a seamless annular flexible film substrate, electrodes are formed on the surface while moving the annular flexible film substrate. A method for manufacturing an electrophotographic photoreceptor, comprising: forming a seamless amorphous silicone layer while moving the substrate within the same apparatus.