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AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsShigeru Shirai, Keishi Saitoh, Takayoshi Arai, Minoru Kato, Yasushi Fujioka
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There is provided an improved light receiving member for use in electrophotography comprising a substrate for electrophotography and a light receiving layer constituted by a charge injection inhibition layer formed of a polycrystal material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and an element for controlling the conductivity which functions to prevent a charge from being injected from the side of the substrate, a photoconductive layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and a surface layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, the amount of the hydrogen atoms contained in the surface layer being in the range from 41 to 70 atomic %. The light receiving layer may have a contact layer and/or an absorption layer of light having a long wavelength.
A light receiving member for use in electrophotography comprising a substrate for electrophotography and a light receiving layer constituted by a charge injection inhibition layer formed of a polycrystal material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and an element for controlling the conductivity which functions to prevent a charge from being injected from the side of the substrate, a photoconductive layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and a surface layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, the amount of the hydrogen atoms contained in the surface layer being in the range from 41 to 70 atomic %.
A light receiving member for use in electrophotography comprising a substrate for electrophotography and a light receiving layer constituted by an absorption layer of light having a long wavelength (hereinafter referred to as "IR layer") formed of either a polycrystal material or an amorphous material containing silicon atoms and germanium atoms, a charge injection inhibition layer formed of a polycrystal material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and an element for controlling the conductivity which functions to prevent a charge from being injected from the side of the substrate, a photoconductive layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms as the main constituent atoms and a surface layer formed of an amorphous material containing silicon atoms, carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms, the amount of the hydrogen atoms contained in the surface layer being in the range from 41 to 70 atomic %.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Silicon-based: comprising five or six silicon-based layers
Silicon-based: comprising three or four silicon-based layers
Comprising three or four silicon-based layers: at least one with varying composition
Comprising five or six silicon-based layers: at least one with varying composition
Term ended 2 Feb 2007 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
This invention relates to an improved light receiving member for use in electrophotography which is sensitive to electromagnetic waves such as light (which herein means in a broader sense those lights such as ultra-violet rays, visible rays, infrared rays, X-rays and .gamma.-rays).
For the photoconductive material to constitute a light receiving layer in a light receiving member for use in electrophotography, it is required to be highly sensitive, to have a high SN ratio [photocurrent (Ip)/dark current (Id)], to have absorption spectrum characteristics suited for the spectrum characteristics of an electromagnetic wave to be irradiated, to be quickly responsive and to have a desired dark resistance. It is also required to be not harmful to living things as well as man upon the use.
Especially, in the case where it is the light receiving member to be applied in an electrophotographic machine for use in office, causing no pollution is indeed important.
FIG. 1(A) through FIG. 1(D) are schematic views illustrating the typical layer constitution of a representative light receiving member for use in electrophotography according to this invention;
FIG. 2 through FIG. 7 are views illustrating the thicknesswise distribution of germanium atoms in the IR layer;
FIG. 8 through FIG. 12 are views illustrating the thicknesswise distribution of the group III atoms or the group V atoms in the charge injection inhibition layer;
Representative embodiments of the light receiving member for use in electrophotography according to this invention will now be explained more specifically referring to the drawings. The description is not intended to limit the scope of this invention.
Representative light receiving members for use in electrophotography according to this invention are as shown in FIG. 1(A) through FIG. 1(D), in which are shown light receiving layer 100, substrate 101, charge injection inhibition layer 102, photoconductive layer 103, surface layer 104, free surface 105, IR layer 106, and contact layer 107.
FIG. 1(A) is a schematic view illustrating a typical representative layer constituion of this invention, in which is shown the light receiving member comprising the substrate 101 and the light receiving layer 100 constituted by the charge injection inhibition layer 102, the photoconductive layer 103 and the surface layer 104.