Coating processes – Direct application of electrical – magnetic – wave – or... – Plasma
Reexamination Certificate
1997-12-29
2002-05-21
Padgett, Marianne (Department: 1762)
Coating processes
Direct application of electrical, magnetic, wave, or...
Plasma
C427S575000, C427S573000, C427S574000, C427S578000, C134S029000, C134S040000, C134S034000, C430S127000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06391394
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a jig used therein. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photosensitive member, which has a non-monocrystalline deposited film comprising silicon atoms and hydrogen atoms formed on an aluminum substrate containing silicon atoms according to a plasma CVD method; the present invention also relates to a jig used in such method.
2. Related Background Art
As the substrate for formation of layer or layers to be deposited on an electrophotographic photosensitive member, glass, heat-resistant synthetic resin, stainless steel, and aluminum have been proposed. Metals have often been used from a practical point of view, however, because the substrate must be compatible with an electrophotographic process such as charging, exposure, development, transfer and cleaning and also because the exact position of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member must always be maintained inside the main body of the apparatus with high accuracy in order to keep the image quality. Among many kinds of metal, aluminum is one of the most suitable materials for the substrate of electrophotographic photosensitive member due to good processing property, low cost and light weight.
Technology concerning quality of material for the substrate of electrophotographic photosensitive members is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,981 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.60-262936. U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,981 discloses a technology to a obtain good image quality amorphous silicon electrophotographic photosensitive member by forming the support of aluminum alloy containing less than 2,000 ppm of Fe. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,981 also discloses the procedures in which a cylindrical substrate is cut by a lathe and mirror finished and then amorphous silicon is formed by glow discharge. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-262936 discloses an extruded aluminum alloy that is superior in vapor deposition of amorphous silicon, which contains aluminum as major component, 3.0-6.0 wt % of Mg and small amounts of impurities such as less than 0.3 wt % of Mn, 0.01 wt % of Cr, 0.15 wt % of Fe and 0.12 wt % of Si. Cleaning of the substrate, however, is not described in the above-described patent literature.
Technology concerning a method for processing the substrate of electrophotographic photosensitive member is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.61-171798, which discloses a technology to obtain an electrophotographic photosensitive member such as high quality amorphous silicon by cutting the substrate with a cutting oil of specific composition. It is also disclosed there that the substrate is cleaned with triethane (trichloroethane: C
2
H
3
Cl
3
) after cutting.
Technologies concerning surface treatment for substrates of electrophotographic photosensitive member have been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.58-014841, 61-273551, 63-264764 and 1-130159.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.58-014841 discloses a technology for obtaining uniform oxide film by removing a natural oxide film on a surface of an aluminum support and immersing it into water at a temperature of 60° C. or higher.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.61-273551 discloses a technology of cleaning as pretreatment of substrate such as alkali cleaning, trichloroethylene cleaning and UV irradiation cleaning by mercury lamp when electrophotographic photosensitive member is produced by vapor depositing Se or the like on an aluminum substrate. It is also disclosed there that liquid degreaser cleaning, vapor degreaser cleaning and pure water cleaning should be done to remove oil and fat attached on surface of cylindrical aluminum substrate as pretreatment for UV irradiation cleaning.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.63-264764 discloses a technology of making substrate surface roughened by water jet.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.1-130159 discloses a technology of cleaning a support of a electrophotographic photosensitive member by water jet. It cites Se, organic photoconductive member and amorphous silicon as examples of photosensitive member. It does not discuss at all, however, the possible problems between film formed by plasma CVD method and cleaning by water jet.
On the other hand, there is a known technology, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.60-876, of injecting carbonic acid gas into super pure water to prevent discharge breakdown due to static electricity on wafer surface. However, this technology is a countermeasure for static electricity generating on highly resistive substrate like wafer and nothing is discussed there on the measures for conductive substrates like aluminum.
Various kinds of materials including inorganic materials like selenium, cadmium sulfide, zinc oxide, and amorphous silicon and organic materials like phthalocyanine have been proposed as composition materials for photosensitive members including photoconductive film used for electrophotographic photosensitive members. Among them, non-monocrystalline deposited films containing silicon atom as a major component, such as amorphous silicon, and amorphous silicon that contains hydrogen and/or halogen (such as fluorine and chlorine) for compensation of dangling bonds, have been proposed as photosensitive members of high performance, high durability and free of contamination. Some of them have been used in practice. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,991 disclosing technology for an electrophotographic photosensitive member whose photoconductive layer is formed mainly of amorphous silicon.
As methods for forming these non-monocrystalline deposited films that contain silicon atom as major component, many conventional methods are known such as a sputtering method, a thermal starting gas decomposing method (thermal CVD method), an optical starting gas decomposing method (optical CVD method), and a plasma starting gas decomposing method (plasma CVD method).
Plasma CVD method, which is a method for decomposing the starting gas by direct current, high frequency wave (including RF wave and VHF wave) or microwave glow discharge to form thin deposited film on the substrate is most suitable for formation of amorphous silicon deposited film for electrophotograph and has been more widely used. In particular, microwave plasma CVD method, which is a plasma CVD method using microwave glow discharge decomposition as method of forming deposited film, has recently been noted from the industrial point of view.
Microwave plasma CVD method has advantage of high decomposition rate and high efficiency in use of the starting gas over other methods. One example of micro wave plasma CVD method making best use of such advantage is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,518, which intends to obtain high quality deposited film at a high deposition rate by microwave plasma CVD method at a low pressure of not higher than 0.1 Torr.
Technology for further improving the efficiency of use of the starting gas by microwave plasma CVD method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.60-186849. Briefly, this technology is to locate the substrates so as to surround the inlet means of microwave energy and form an internal chamber (discharge space) so that the efficiency of use of the starting gas may increase significantly.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.61-283116 discloses improved microwave technology for production of semiconductor component. Namely, the technology is to improve the characteristics of deposited film by placing electrode (bias electrode) in the discharge space for control of plasma potential and applying the desired voltage (bias voltage) to the bias electrode for controlling ion impact on the deposited film.
In the case aluminum alloy cylinder is used as the substrate, a typical production method of electrophotographic photosensitive member according to thes
Katagiri Hiroyuki
Segi Yoshio
Shirasuna Toshiyasu
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Padgett Marianne
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