JP4901265B2 - Deposited film forming method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for forming an amorphous silicon-based (a-Si-based) deposited film on a substrate such as a cylindrical substrate of an electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  Although various forms are known as an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a drum-like form is common. The drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member is obtained by forming a desired layer such as an a-Si photoconductive layer on the surface of a cylindrical substrate. Various methods for forming an a-Si photoconductive layer on a cylindrical substrate are known. In particular, the plasma CVD method is currently in practical use. This plasma CVD method is a method in which a source gas is decomposed by direct current, high frequency, microwave glow discharge, or the like to form a deposited film on a cylindrical substrate.

  When producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member by this plasma CVD method, a glow discharge plasma CVD apparatus 9 as shown in FIG. 10 is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The glow discharge plasma CVD apparatus 9 shown in the figure forms an a-Si-based film by glow discharge plasma on a cylindrical conductive substrate 91 disposed almost at the center of a cylindrical vacuum vessel 90. is there. The glow discharge plasma CVD apparatus 9 uses a conductive base 91 supported by a base support 92 via a ring member 93 as a ground electrode, and a hollow cylindrical metal electrode surrounded by an equal distance. 94 is an electrode for applying high-frequency power. The metal electrode 94 is provided with a gas inlet 95 for introducing a raw material gas for film formation, and the raw material gas introduced through the gas inlet 95 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the metal electrode 94. The gas blowing holes 94a are blown out toward the conductive substrate 91. A high frequency power is applied between the metal electrode 94 and the conductive substrate 91 by a high frequency power source 96 to cause glow discharge. Inside the substrate support 92, a substrate heating means 97 made of a nichrome wire, a cartridge heater or the like is provided, and the conductive substrate 91 can be heated to a desired temperature. The substrate support 92 and the conductive substrate 91 can be rotated together by a rotation driving means 98 including a rotation motor 98a.

  When the a-Si film is formed on the conductive substrate 91 using the plasma CVD apparatus 9, a raw material gas set at a predetermined flow rate and gas ratio passes through the gas blowing hole 94 a from the gas introduction pipe 95. It is introduced between the metal electrode 94 and the conductive substrate 91. On the other hand, the gas pressure in the vacuum vessel 90 is set to a predetermined value by adjusting the exhaust amount from the exhaust port 99 by a vacuum pump (not shown). Then, high frequency power is applied between the metal electrode 94 and the conductive substrate 91 by the high frequency power source 96, and glow discharge plasma is generated between the metal electrode 94 and the conductive substrate 91 to decompose the source gas. Then, an a-Si based film is formed on the conductive substrate 91 set to a desired temperature. At the time of film formation, since the conductive substrate 91 is rotated together with the substrate support 92 by the rotation driving means 98, the film thickness and film quality in the circumferential direction with respect to the conductive substrate 91 are made uniform.

JP 2002-004050 A

  When a desired film is formed on the conductive substrate 91 using the plasma CVD apparatus 9, for example, in order to improve productivity, a plurality of conductive substrates 91 are supported on a substrate support 92 as shown in FIG. For example, in a state, it is set in the plasma CVD apparatus 9 and film formation is simultaneously performed on those conductive substrates 91.

  However, the outer diameter of the substrate support 92 is set to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the conductive substrate 91 in order to facilitate attachment / detachment with respect to the substrate support 92. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, with respect to the base support 92, the adjacent conductive bases 91 are supported in a state in which the axes of the conductive bases 91 are displaced, and remain as they are. May cause film formation. When such a situation occurs, the following problems occur.

  First, since the distance between the metal electrode 94 (gas blowing port 94a) and the surface of the conductive substrate 91 is not constant when the substrate support 92 is rotated, it is formed on the surface of the conductive substrate 91. Unevenness occurs in the thickness and quality of the film formed. Further, due to the non-uniformity of the distance between the metal electrode 94 (gas blowing port 94a) and the surface of the conductive substrate 91, abnormal discharge may occur between them. When such abnormal discharge occurs, the film grows abnormally, resulting in unevenness in the thickness and quality of the film formed on the surface of the conductive substrate 91. In particular, at the end portion of the adjacent conductive substrate 91, a step is generated due to the displacement, and therefore abnormal discharge is likely to occur near the step portion (end portion). Such unevenness in film thickness and film quality causes image unevenness and minute image defects, and therefore becomes a serious problem as colorization of electrophotographic apparatuses proceeds rapidly.

  Secondly, a step is generated at the end portion of the adjacent conductive substrate 91 due to the displacement as described above, and therefore the adhesion of the film is lowered in the vicinity of the step (end portion). Therefore, when the conductive substrate 91 is removed from the substrate support 92 after the film formation is completed, film peeling may occur at the end of the conductive substrate 91. Such film peeling at the end causes a reduction in yield, and thus cannot reduce the cost, and cannot meet the demand for cost reduction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and enables the formation of a film with less film thickness and film quality unevenness on a cylindrical substrate while suppressing the occurrence of film peeling, An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member with few minute image defects at a low cost.

In the present invention, a plurality of cylindrical substrates constituting the electrophotographic photoreceptor are connected to each other in a state of being supported on the substrate support, the deposited film forming method for forming a deposited film on a surface of the substrate to contact with each other The deposited film is formed in a state in which the cylindrical substrates are connected to each other via a plurality of pin-shaped connecting members fitted into recesses provided on an end surface of the cylindrical substrate. A method is provided.

The plurality of pin-shaped connecting members may be integrally formed so as to protrude from both end faces of the cylindrical member.

  Preferably, a stainless steel member is used as the connecting member.

  According to the present invention, since the deposited film is formed in a state where a plurality of substrates are connected via the connecting member, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unevenness in the thickness and quality of the deposited film. For example, when a cylindrical substrate is used as the substrate, the axial centers of the adjacent cylindrical substrates are matched or substantially matched by the connecting member. Is suppressed from occurring. Therefore, the distance between the source gas blowing hole and the cylindrical substrate can be made uniform, and the film thickness and film quality caused by the non-uniform distance between the gas blowing hole and the surface of the cylindrical substrate can be uneven. Can be suppressed. In addition, in a deposited film forming method such as a plasma CVD method, it is possible to suppress the growth of an abnormal film due to abnormal discharge by forming a step in the connecting portion and form a uniform deposited film. Therefore, when the deposited film forming method of the present invention is applied to the production of an electrophotographic photosensitive member, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image unevenness and minute image defects due to film thickness and film quality unevenness. It is possible to respond appropriately to conversion.

  Moreover, if the level | step difference in a connection part of a cylindrical base | substrate is eliminated, it can also suppress that the adhesiveness of the film | membrane in the edge part of a cylindrical base | substrate falls. For this reason, when the adjacent substrates are separated after the film formation is completed, it is possible to suppress the film peeling at the end of the substrate. As a result, in the deposited film forming method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in yield due to film peeling at the end of the cylindrical substrate, thereby reducing costs and meeting the demand for lower prices. Is possible.

  In the present invention, if the cylindrical bases are connected to each other using the inlay portion of the cylindrical base, the cylindrical member is specially processed to connect the cylindrical bases using the connecting member. There is no need to apply it, and a decrease in productivity and an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, if a pin-like member fitted into a recess provided on the end surface of the cylindrical base is used as the connecting member, unevenness in film thickness and film quality can be obtained even when a deposited film is formed on the cylindrical base without an inlay portion. Can be prevented from occurring.

  In the present invention, if a stainless steel member is used as the connecting member, the strength of the connecting member can be appropriately ensured, so that the connecting member can be used repeatedly, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

  In the following, the deposited film forming method according to the present invention will be described as first to third embodiments with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the case of forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member.

  First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical substrate 10 on which a deposited film is formed according to the present invention has, for example, a charge injection blocking layer 11, a photoconductive layer 12, and a surface protective layer 13 sequentially stacked on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Thus, the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 is constituted. The cylindrical base body 10 is provided with an inlay portion 10a for fitting the flange 14 into the end portion.

  For such a cylindrical substrate 10, for example, by using the plasma CVD apparatus 2 shown in FIG. 2, an amorphous silicon film (a-Si film) can be formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof.

  The plasma CVD apparatus 2 defines a vacuum chamber 23 with a cylindrical electrode 20 and a pair of plates 21 and 22, and further includes a substrate support 24 and a heating body 25.

  The entire cylindrical electrode 20 is formed hollow by a conductor such as metal, and is joined to a pair of plates 21 and 22 via an insulating seal 26. The cylindrical electrode 20 is provided with a gas introduction port 27 and a plurality of gas blowing holes 28, and a high frequency power supply 31 is connected via an impedance matching circuit 30.

  The gas inlet 27 is for introducing a raw material gas to be supplied to the vacuum chamber 23, and is connected to the raw material gas tanks 40, 41, 42, 43 via pipes 40 A, 41 A, 42 A, 43 A, 44. Yes. The source gas tanks 40, 41, 42, and 43 are each filled with B2H6, H2 (or He), CH4, or SiH4. Valves 40B, 41B, 42B, 43B, 40C, 41C, 42C, 43C and flow regulators 40D, 41D, 42D, 43D are provided in the middle of the pipes 40A, 41A, 42A, 43A. It is possible to adjust the flow rate, gas pressure and composition of each raw material gas component to be introduced.

  The plurality of gas blowing holes 28 are for blowing the source gas introduced into the cylindrical electrode 20 toward the cylindrical substrate 10 and are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction in the figure, and in the circumferential direction. Are arranged at equal intervals. The plurality of gas blowing holes 28 are formed in a circular shape having the same shape, and the hole diameter D is, for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm.

  The pair of plates 21 and 22 are for closing the openings 20A and 20B of the cylindrical electrode 20, and are formed in a circular shape having a diameter corresponding to the outer diameter of the cylindrical electrode 20 by a conductor such as metal, for example. ing.

  The plate 21 is provided with a rotating means 5 at the center thereof. The rotating means 5 is for rotating the substrate support 24. A rotating mechanism (not shown) is provided at the contact point between the rotating means 5 and the plate 21 so that the vacuum in the vacuum chamber 23 can be maintained. As such a rotating mechanism, vacuum seal means such as an oil seal or a mechanical seal can be used with a rotating shaft having a double or triple structure. Further, when the temperature of the cylindrical substrate 10 is detected to control the temperature of the cylindrical substrate 10, the rotation shaft is formed hollow, and the temperature detection means and its wiring are provided inside the rotation shaft. Can also be provided.

  When film formation is performed by rotating the substrate support 24 by such a rotating means 5, the cylindrical substrate 10 is rotated together with the substrate support 24, so that it is even with respect to the outer periphery of the cylindrical substrate 10. It is possible to deposit a decomposition component of the source gas on the substrate.

  On the other hand, the plate 22 is provided with a gas discharge port 22 </ b> A and a pressure gauge 60.

  The gas discharge port 22 </ b> A is for discharging the gas in the vacuum chamber 23 to the outside, and is connected to the mechanical booster pump 61 and the rotary pump 62. By discharging the gas from the vacuum chamber 23 through the gas exhaust port 22A by these pumps 61 and 62, the vacuum chamber 23 is maintained in a vacuum. The pressure in the vacuum chamber 23 is, for example, about 1.0 to 100 Pa.

  The pressure gauge 60 is for monitoring the pressure in the vacuum chamber 23. The monitoring result of the pressure gauge 60 is fed back to the mechanical booster pump 61 and the rotary pump 62, and the pressure in the vacuum chamber 23 is maintained at a desired value. As the pressure gauge 60, various known ones can be used.

  The substrate support 24 is for supporting the cylindrical substrate 10 (see FIG. 3) and is formed in a hollow shape. The substrate support 24 also functions as an electrode, and is entirely formed of a conductor such as metal.

  The heating body 25 is for heating the cylindrical substrate 10 and is accommodated inside the substrate support 24. As the heating body 25, for example, a nichrome wire or a cartridge heater can be used.

  When an a-Si film is formed on the cylindrical substrate 10 using such a plasma CVD apparatus 2, first, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of cylindrical substrates 10 (2 in the drawing) are formed on the substrate support 24. Set). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when setting the cylindrical substrate 10 on the substrate support 24, first, two cylinders are connected via the connecting member 7 using the inlay portion 10 a of the cylindrical substrate 10. The substrate 10 is connected to each other.

  As the connecting member 7, as shown in FIG. 5, a cylindrical member is used. The connecting member 7 has an inner diameter that matches or substantially matches the inner diameter of the cylindrical base body 10, and an outer diameter that matches or substantially matches the inner diameter of the spigot portion 10 a in the cylindrical base body 10. Therefore, when two cylindrical bases 10 are connected via the connecting member 7 as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, their axes coincide with each other without causing a step on the surface of the cylindrical base 10. The connecting member 7 does not get in the way when the cylindrical substrate 10 is supported by the substrate support 24 while the cylindrical substrate 10 is integrated in a substantially matched state. Such a connecting member 7 can be formed of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or copper, for example, but it is particularly preferable to use a member formed of stainless steel. The connection member 7 made of stainless steel is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost because it has sufficient strength and can be used repeatedly, as will be apparent from examples described later.

  Here, as the cylindrical substrate 10, a conductive or insulating substrate, or a substrate in which a conductive layer is formed on the surface of the insulating substrate is employed.

  Examples of the conductive substrate include aluminum (Al), stainless steel (SUS), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), and titanium (Ti). The thing formed with the metal or these alloys can be mentioned.

  Examples of the insulating substrate include inorganic insulators such as glass (borosilicate glass and soda glass), ceramics, quartz, and sapphire, or fluororesin, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyamide, and vinylon. And synthetic resin insulators such as epoxy and mylar.

  As the conductive layer formed on the insulating base, for example, on the surface of the insulating base, a conductive layer such as ITO (indium / tin / oxide), tin oxide, lead oxide, indium oxide, and copper iodide, Al Metal layers such as Ni, Au, and gold (Au) can be employed. The conductive layer may be, for example, a vacuum deposition method, an active reaction deposition method, an ion plating method, an RF sputtering method, a DC sputtering method, an RF magnetron sputtering method, a DC magnetron sputtering method, a thermal CVD method, a plasma CVD method, a spray method, It can be formed by a coating method or a dipping method.

  After the cylindrical substrate 10 integrated through the connecting member 7 is supported on the substrate support 24, the cylindrical substrate 10 is heated by the heating body 25 and the vacuum chamber 23 is depressurized.

  The cylindrical body 10 is heated by the heating body 25, for example, by supplying electric power to the heating body 25 from the outside to cause the heating body 25 to generate heat. Due to the heat generated by the heating body 52, the cylindrical substrate 3 is heated to a target temperature. The temperature of the cylindrical substrate 10 is selected depending on the type of film to be formed on the surface thereof. For example, when forming an a-Si film, the temperature is set in the range of 250 to 300 ° C.

  On the other hand, the vacuum chamber 23 is decompressed by discharging gas from the vacuum chamber 23 through the gas discharge port 22 </ b> A by the mechanical booster pump 61 and the rotary pump 62. The degree of pressure reduction in the vacuum chamber 23 is, for example, about 1.0 to 100 Pa.

  Next, when the temperature of the cylindrical substrate 10 reaches a desired temperature and the pressure in the vacuum chamber 23 reaches a desired pressure, the raw material gas tanks 40, 41, 42, 43 are connected via the pipes 40A, 41A, 42A, 43A, 44. The raw material gas is introduced into the cylindrical electrode 20 through the gas inlet 27 at a desired composition, flow rate and gas pressure. The source gas introduced into the cylindrical electrode 20 is blown out toward the cylindrical substrate 10 through a plurality of gas blowing holes 28.

  On the other hand, a high frequency is applied between the cylindrical electrode 20 and the substrate support 24 by the high frequency power supply 31 via the impedance matching circuit 30. As a result, glow discharge occurs between the cylindrical electrode 20 and the substrate support 24, and the raw material gas components are decomposed into plasma. The decomposition component of the source gas is deposited on the surface of the cylindrical substrate 10. Then, by appropriately switching the composition of the source gas by the valves 40B, 41B, 42B, 43B, 40C, 41C, 42C, 43C and the flow rate regulators 40D, 41D, 42D, 43D, the surface of the cylindrical base 10 is charged. The injection blocking layer 11, the photoconductive layer 12, and the surface protective layer 13 are sequentially laminated.

  When film formation on the cylindrical substrate 10 is completed, the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained by extracting the cylindrical substrate 10 from the substrate support 24.

  In such a deposited film forming method, the axial centers of the two cylindrical substrates 10 are made to coincide or substantially coincide with each other, and there is almost no step in the connecting portion. Therefore, the distance between the cylindrical electrode 20 (the plurality of gas blowing holes 28) and the surface of the cylindrical substrate 10 when the substrate support 24 is rotated can be made constant. As a result, uneven film growth due to unevenness in film thickness or film quality due to non-uniformity in the distance between the cylindrical electrode 20 (the plurality of gas blowing holes 28) and the surface of the cylindrical substrate 10 or abnormal discharge. And a homogeneous volume film can be formed. Therefore, in the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 obtained by the deposited film forming method of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of image unevenness and minute image defects due to film thickness and film quality unevenness, which is suitable for colorization of an electrophotographic apparatus. Can respond.

  Moreover, if the level | step difference in the connection part of the cylindrical base | substrate 10 disappears, it can also suppress that the adhesiveness of the film | membrane in the edge part of the cylindrical base | substrate 10 falls. For this reason, when the cylindrical substrate 10 is removed from the substrate support 24 after the film formation is completed, it is possible to suppress film peeling at the end of the cylindrical substrate 10. As a result, in the deposited film forming method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by suppressing the decrease in yield, and thus it is possible to meet the demand for cost reduction.

  Furthermore, if the cylindrical bases 10 are connected to each other by using the inlay portion 10a of the cylindrical base 10, it is necessary to perform special processing on the cylindrical base 10 in order to connect the cylindrical bases 10. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in productivity and an increase in cost.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The deposited film forming method according to the present embodiment is different from the deposited film forming method described above in the configuration of the end portion 10B ′ of the cylindrical substrate 10 ′ and the connecting member 7 ′.

  The cylindrical base body 10 ′ used in the present embodiment is not provided with the spigot portion 10a (see FIG. 1), and is provided with a plurality of concave portions 10c ′ on the end surface 10b ′. On the other hand, the connecting member 7 'is configured as a pin-shaped member for fitting into the recess 10c'.

  In the present embodiment, the two cylindrical bases 10 'are connected to each other by fitting the connecting member 7' into the recess 10c '. Such a method using the connecting member 7 'is useful when a deposited film is formed on the cylindrical base body 10' not provided with the spigot part 10a (see FIG. 1).

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The deposited film forming method according to the present embodiment is different from the deposited film forming method according to the second embodiment described above in the configuration of the connecting member 7 ″.

  The connecting member 7 ″ is formed by projecting a plurality of pin-like portions 72 ″ from the end surface 71 ″ of the cylindrical member 70 ″. In this connecting member 7 ″, the two cylindrical base bodies 10 ″ can be connected by fitting each pin-shaped portion 72 ″ into the concave portion 10c ″ of the cylindrical base body 10 ″. Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, it is necessary to individually fit the pin-like members into the recesses 10c ′ as in the case where the cylindrical base body 10 ′ is connected by a plurality of pin-like members 7 ′. Therefore, workability is improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be variously modified. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the a-Si film is formed by the plasma CVD method has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to other CVD methods (for example, a thermal CVD method or a heating element CVD method) The present invention can be applied to a deposited film forming method other than the method, and can also be applied to the case of forming a film other than the a-Si film.

  Further, as the connecting member, in addition to a cylindrical shape, a pin shape, or a combination thereof, for example, a plate shape, or a member in which a fin other than a pin shape protrudes from the end surface of the cylindrical member may be used. it can.

  In the previous embodiment, the case where the deposited film is formed by connecting two cylindrical substrates has been described as an example. However, the present invention is applied to the case where the deposited film is formed by connecting three or more cylindrical substrates. Can also be applied.

  In this example, potential characteristics, image characteristics, and appearance characteristics when the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 was formed using the plasma CVD apparatus 2 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 were evaluated.

  As the cylindrical substrate, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, an inlay portion 10a is provided, and an aluminum substrate having a diameter of 84 mm and a length of 340 mm is used. As shown in FIG. 3, two cylindrical substrates 10 are supported on the substrate support 24 in a state of being connected via a cylindrical connecting member 7. As the connecting member 7, a stainless steel member was used. The deposited film was formed under the conditions shown in Table 1 below. The evaluation results of each characteristic are shown in Table 2 below. Table 2 shows the results when a deposited film is formed by supporting two cylindrical substrates on a substrate support without using a connecting member.

  The potential characteristics were evaluated using a potential measuring device manufactured by Kyocera Corporation, and the image characteristics were evaluated using KM7530 manufactured by Kyocera Mita.

  Further, in Table 2, “Good” is evaluated as “Good”, Δ is “High defect rate but no problem in actual use”, and × is “There is a problem in actual use”.

  As can be seen from the results in Table 2, when the deposited film is formed in a state where the two cylindrical bases 10 are connected using the connecting member 7, compared to the case where the deposited film is formed without using the connecting member 7. Image and appearance quality are greatly improved. In particular, the image and appearance quality in the region up to the end 50 mm of the cylindrical substrate 10 were greatly improved. On the other hand, when the deposited film was formed using the connecting member 7, no deterioration in the potential characteristics was observed. Therefore, according to the deposited film forming method of the present invention, it is possible to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member having characteristics that are not problematic in practical use, so that the yield can be improved.

  In the present example, a deposition film was formed on the cylindrical substrate 10 using the connecting members 7 made of different materials in the same manner as in Example 1, and various characteristics were evaluated. The evaluation results of various characteristics are shown in Table 3 below. In Table 3 below, “◯” indicates “good” and “×” indicates “problem in actual use”.

  As can be seen from the results in Table 3, the quality was improved regardless of the material of the connecting member 7. Since the connecting member 7 made of Al or Cu is soft, it is not easy to separate the cylindrical substrate 10 and the connecting member 7 after deposition. On the other hand, since the connection member 7 made of SUS has sufficient strength, it can be easily separated from the cylindrical base body 7, and the effect can be obtained even when used repeatedly.

It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the electrophotographic photoreceptor obtained by the deposited film formation method concerning this invention, and its principal part enlarged view. It is sectional drawing of the CVD apparatus for demonstrating the deposited film formation method which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where two cylindrical substrates are supported on a substrate support in the CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing which expanded and showed the connection part of the two cylindrical base | substrates shown in FIG. It is the perspective view which decomposed | disassembled and showed the connection part shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 4 for demonstrating the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view equivalent to FIG. 5 of the connection part shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing equivalent to FIG. 4 for demonstrating the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view equivalent to FIG. 5 of the connection part shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating an example of the conventional deposited film formation method taking plasma CVD method as an example. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where two cylindrical substrates are supported on a substrate support in the CVD apparatus shown in FIG. 10. It is sectional drawing which expanded and showed the connection part of the two cylindrical base | substrates shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrophotographic photoreceptor 10,10 ', 10 "Cylindrical base | substrate 10a Inner part (of cylindrical base | substrate) 14 Flange (of electrophotographic photosensitive body) 24 Base support body 7,7', 7" Connecting member

Claims (3)

In a deposited film forming method in which a plurality of cylindrical substrates constituting an electrophotographic photoreceptor are connected to each other in a state of being supported by a substrate support, and a deposited film is formed on the surface of the substrate.
Said cylindrical body to each other to contact each other, and forming a plurality of pin-like the deposited film while coupled through a coupling member to be fitted in a recess provided in an end face of the cylindrical body , Deposited film forming method. 2. The deposited film forming method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pin-shaped connecting members are integrally formed so as to protrude from both end faces of the cylindrical member . The connecting member is made of stainless steel, the deposited film forming method according to claim 1 or 2.

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