Electrophotographic multi-layered photosensitive member having a top protective layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide and method for fabricating the same
An electrophotographic multi-layered photosensitive member having a top layer of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide and the method for forming the top layer are provided. The hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide has an atomic ratio of carbon to carbon plus silicon C/(Si+C) ranging from 0.17 to 0.47 and a ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms bonded to a silicon atom per silicon atom, to number of hydrogen atoms bonded to a carbon atom per carbon atom, {(Si--H)/Si}/{(C--H)/C}, ranging from 0.3 to 1.0. The top layer is formed on a photosensitive member of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by employing a glow discharge CVD method. The gaseous mixture composed of disilane (Si.sub.2 H.sub.6) and propane (C.sub.3 H.sub.8) mixed with a mol ratio expressed as C.sub.3 H.sub.8 /(Si.sub.2 H.sub.6 +C.sub.3 H.sub.8) ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 is used. Another gaseous mixture is also used with an improved result. The mixture comprises disilane (Si.sub.2 H.sub.6) gas, propane (C.sub.3 H.sub.8) gas, and hydrogen (H.sub.2) gas, the mixing mol ratio of the propane gas to the disilane gas expressed as C.sub.3 H.sub.8 /(Si.sub.2 H.sub.6 +C.sub.3 H.sub.8) ranging from 02 to 0.7, and the mixing mol ratio of the hydrogen gas to the remaining gas, H.sub.2 /(Si.sub.2 H.sub.6 +C.sub.3 H.sub.8), ranging from 1 to 10.
A layer of an amorphous substance containing at least one member from among hydrogen and halogen elements and using as main components thereof silicon and at least one member selected from among nitrogen, carbon and oxygen is formed as a resin-protecting layer or an abrasion-resistant layer in a thermal printing head or as a resin-protecting layer in a heat-resistant insulating substrate. The hardness of the substrate itself is greatly improved by this layer of the amorphous substance. As the result, the substrate as a whole or the thermal printing head as a whole acquires high rigidity and improved resistance to crack.
A hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide material is used as the surface protecting layer for a photosensitive member of an electrophotographic apparatus. The carbon content (x) of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide material, expressed by the general formula a--Si.sub.1-x C.sub.x :H, ranges from 0.4 to 0.6, and the composition is such that the ratio of the peak TO amplitude appearing in the vicinity of 480 cm.sup.-1 to the peak TA amplitude appearing in the vicinity of 150 cm.sup.-1, both as observed by laser Raman spectroscope measurement using an excitation laser of Ar.sup.+ 488nm, is 2.0 or higher. Such material does not exhibit blurring of the image even when exposed to high humidity conditions.
A red reproduction-improving electrophotographic image-forming method to be practiced in an electrophotographic image-forming system having a halogen lamp image-forming light source, characterized by using: (a) an image-forming light of a continuous wavelength in the region of from 400 to 700 nm from said halogen lamp light source, (b) a magnet roller capable of forming toner brush comprising magnetic materials of said magnetic toner in said cleaning mechanism, and (c) an amorphous silicon system photosensitive member in a cylindrical form as said cylindrical photosensitive member: said amorphous silicon system photosensitive member comprising a substrate and a light receiving layer which comprises a 0.01 to 10 .mu.m thick charge injection inhibition layer composed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as the matrix, a 1 to 100 .mu.m thick photoconductive layer of 3.2 to 3.5 in refractive index composed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as the matrix and at least hydrogen atoms and a 4000 to 10000 .ANG. thick surface layer of 1.9 to 2.3 in refractive index composed of A-SiC:H material.
The present invention provides a method of forming a film, having the step of allowing a first chemical substance to be adsorbed on a surface of a silicon substrate by a gaseous phase method, and the step of introducing a gas containing a second chemical substance onto the substrate surface having the first chemical substance adsorbed thereon for forming a silicon compound layer on the silicon substrate, the silicon compound layer consisting essentially of a silicon compound formed by a reaction between the first chemical substance adsorbed on the substrate surface and the second chemical substance. The film-forming method of the present invention is featured in that one of the first and second chemical substances contains silicon and the other chemical substance contains an element other than silicon, that the step of forming the silicon compound layer is continued until the reaction between the first chemical substance and the second chemical substance is saturated, and that the step of allowing the first chemical substance to be adsorbed on the substrate surface and the step of forming the silicon compound layer are carried out alternately and a plurality of times.
A photoconductive member, comprises a support for a photoconductive member and an amorphous layer which is constituted of silicon atoms as matrix containing at least one of hydrogen atom and halogen atom and exhibits photoconductivity, said amorphous layer having a layer region containing carbon atoms in at least a part thereof, the content of the carbon atoms in said layer region being distributed unevenly in the direction of the thickness of said layer.
