Electrophotographic photosensitive member and electrophotographic apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsKazuto Hosoi, Jun Ohira
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrophotographic photosensitive member is disclosed which has a change layer consisting of five or more a-SiC intermediate layers, provided between an a-Si photoconductive layer and an a-SiC surface layer. Where two layers contiguous to each other in which C/(Si+C) is from 0.35 to 0.65 are selected from among the a-SiC intermediate layers included in the change layer, the rate of increase between the C/(Si+C) of an a-SiC intermediate layer on the photoconductive layer side and the C/(Si+C) of an a-SiC intermediate layer on the surface layer side (i.e., the rate of increase between layers) is 19% or less.
Claims9
An electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising:
- a substrate,
- a photoconductive layer provided on the substrate and including amorphous silicon, and
- a surface layer provided on the photoconductive layer and including hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide,
- wherein;
- the electrophotographic photosensitive member further comprises, between the photoconductive layer and the surface layer, a change layer consisting essentially of five or more intermediate layers each including hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide,
- where;
- a ratio of a number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of a number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in each of the intermediate layers included in the change layer increases monotonously from an innermost intermediate layer on the side of the photoconductive layer toward an outermost intermediate layer on the side of the surface layer;
- in the change layer, two or more intermediate layers are included in which the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), is in the range of from 0.35 or more to 0.65 or less;
- where, among the intermediate layers included in the change layer, two layers contiguous to each other are selected from among intermediate layers in which the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), is in the range of from 0.35 or more to 0.65 or less, and, between the two layers contiguous to each other, the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in an intermediate layer on the side of the photoconductive layer is represented by A, and the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in an intermediate layer on the side of the surface layer is represented by B, all the intermediate layers in which the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), is in the range of from 0.35 or more to 0.65 or less satisfy, among the layers, that the rate of increase between layers as defined by the following expression (1):
- Rate of increase between layers={(B−A)/A}×100(%) (1)
- is 19% or less;
- the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in the surface layer is from 0.61 or more to 0.90 or less;
- and
- the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in the surface layer is larger than the ratio of the number of carbon atoms (C) to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C), C/(Si+C), in any intermediate layer included in the change layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.