Electrophotographic photoreceptor with super lattice structure

Abstract

A photoconductive layer of an electrophotographic photoreceptor has a super lattice structure obtained by alternately stacking thin layers (the thickness falls within the range of 30 to 200 .ANG.) of at least two types of amorphous semiconductors having different optical band gaps. In the super lattice structure, when the layer having a narrow bandgap is sandwiched between the layers having wide bandgaps, a quantum well is formed. By the quantum effect, electrons in the well are shifted to cause high mobility of carriers. When the super lattice structure is applied to the photoconductive layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, the number of carriers generated at the interface between the thin layers is large. In the photoconductive layer having the super lattice structure, carrier lifetime is prolonged, in the potential well layer, 5 to 10 times that in a single layer, due to the quantum size effect, as compared with that of a single layer, thereby increasing light sensitivity of the photoconductive layer.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.