JPS6260703B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

This application is based on “Coating Method” filed on June 10, 1974.
U.S. Patent Application Sevial No. 477737 entitled “To Improve Adhesion Of Phtoconductors”
CIP, and the present invention relates to an improved photoreceptor using a flexible substrate and a relatively brittle heavy ionizable inorganic photoconductive material, which photoreceptor can be fabricated according to an oxidation-ion-deposition method. can get. Photoreceptors, especially those related to xerography,
Traditionally includes a photoconductive insulating layer such as selenium (amorphous or trigonal) and an ionizable element or alloy thereof, exemplified by selenium alloys, such as selenium-arsenic alloys, with varying amounts of halogen. The material is typically applied in charge blocking contact to a supporting metal or metal coated charge conducting substrate. Suitable substrates for this purpose are e.g. aluminum, steel,
Contains nickel, brass, NESA glass or corresponding metal polymer materials. A photoreceptor containing at least the above-described components is generally uniformly electrostatically charged, and the sensitized surface is then exposed to an image pattern formed by electromagnetic radiation, such as light. Light bombardment causes selective dissipation of the initially applied charge, leaving a positive electrostatic image.
The electrostatic image is then typically developed by applying oppositely charged electroscopic marking particles onto the charge-bearing photoreceptor surface. The above principles were first described by Carlson in US Pat. No. 2,297,691 and have since been extended and reproduced in many related patents in this field. Generally speaking, however, photoconductive layers suitable for performing the above-mentioned functions have a resistivity of about 10 ¹⁰ -10 ¹³ ohm-cm in the absence of illumination. Furthermore, this resistivity must decrease by at least several orders of magnitude when exposed to activating radiation such as light. Photoreceptors meeting the above criteria also typically exhibit some loss in applied charge, even in the absence of light exposure. This development is called “dark decay” (dark decay).
The existence of the problem of "dark decay" is well known and may vary slightly with the sensitivity and application of the photoreceptor. This adjustment is achieved to a considerable extent by the insertion of a thin barrier layer.Dessauer et al., US Patent No.
2901348 utilizes an insulating resin layer such as a film of aluminum oxide about 25 to 200 Å or polystyrene about 0.1 to 2 microns thick for this purpose. With certain limits, these barrier layers act to allow the photoconductive layer to support high field strength charges while minimizing "dark decay." However, when activated by illumination, this photoconductive layer and the barrier layer must become sufficiently conductive to allow substantial dissipation of the applied charge within the light impingement area within a short period of time. No. In addition to the electrical requirements mentioned above, it has become increasingly important that photoreceptors meet fairly stringent requirements with respect to mechanical properties such as flexibility and durability. This additional criterion becomes especially important in modern automatic imaging machines operating at high speeds when the photoreceptor is in the form of an endless flexible belt (see US Pat. No. 2,691,450). While belt photoreceptors have many advantages, there are also significant technical problems inherent in their use. For example, high speed machine cycling conditions require particularly strong adhesion between the photoconductive layer and the underlying substrate. Unfortunately, however, some of the most sensitized and effective photoconductive materials are relatively brittle as films and generally do not adhere well to flexible metal substrates with good charge blocking contacts. However, it is important that any charge-blocking interface between the conductive support substrate and the photoconductive layer be stable and strongly adhesive to both, since changes in this respect This is because it has a significant effect on the electrical properties and life of the The above problem is related to Lewis B., filed on June 10, 1974. Leder (Lewis B.Leder), John C. Schottmiller
and Harold Etsch Schrader
“Improued Photoreceptor” by H.Schroeder)
Fabrication” (U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 477736), in which the substrate (cathode) is air or at least
It is first bombarded by non-metallic ions under a DC glow discharge in the presence of an inert noble gas containing vol% available oxygen. This process then separates the substrate (cathode) with a mixture of non-metallic high-energy cations in an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon, an uncharged evaporated photoconductive material, and high-energy ions of the photoconductive material. Continued or overlapped by exposure.
While the methods described above have shown substantial technical success in utilizing more effective brittle photoconductors in flexible belt photoreceptors, there remains considerable room for improvement. In particular, the production of high-energy photoconductive cations in glow discharges for bombardment purposes is relatively inefficient (up to 5% ion production at most) and requires expensive electrical equipment of limited performance to maintain a suitable electric field. Requires. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an improved photoreceptor suitable for high speed xerographic reproduction purposes. Another object of the invention is to provide good blocking contact;
A novel method for the successful use of brittle photoconductive elements in high-speed flexible photoreceptor types without the need for complex chemical pretreatment of substrates to obtain durability and flexibility It lies in developing. These and other objects of the invention include exposing a clean oxide-coated substrate to a vapor cloud containing photoconductive material from a grounded or floating donor source, wherein said vapor cloud is including both a charged photoconductive material and energetic ions of the photoconductive material from the glow discharge, the energetic ions substantially obtained by heating the donor source to effect evaporation of the photoconductive material; , and bombarding the resulting vapor cloud with electrons and/or gas ions in a glow discharge between a metal or metal-coated substrate and an inorganic photoconductive-containing photoconductor layer in charge-blocking contact with this substrate. This is accomplished by providing a flexible photoreceptor with excellent durability and adhesion. While many variations are possible, the initial step to obtain a clean monoxide substrate is most conveniently a combination of oxygen with air or at least one inert non-metal ion-forming gas such as nitrogen, argon, xenon, etc. First bombarding a grounded or floating substrate with electrons and gas ions generated under a glow discharge in the presence of a mixture, and then the oxidized substrate forming a photoconductor vapor cloud containing said energetic ions. Obtained by exposure. In either case, the most suitable photoreceptor includes at least one thin oxide charge blocking layer obtained generally in accordance with US Pat. No. 2,901,348 or otherwise. However, when flexible metal belts such as nickel belts are used as substrates, special chemical treatments are sometimes required to obtain a suitable intermediate charge blocking layer. Depending on the nature of the substrate, the charge, shape and placement of the positive electrode, if electrical rather than chemical pretreatment is used, the critical step of exposing the oxide-coated substrate to the vapor cloud may include initial substrate cleaning and It may be performed subsequent to or in conjunction with at least a portion of the oxidative bombardment step. Suitable substrates for the purposes of the present invention usefully include relatively thin layers or metal foils of copper, steel, brass, aluminium, zinc, nickel or corresponding metal-coated flexible polymer bases, such as coated polyethylene terephthalate. may be included. Of particular interest are aluminum coated polyethylene terephthalate belts and nickel belts. Photoconductive materials suitable for use in the present method generally include inorganic ionizable elements such as selenium, tellurium, germanium, antimony, bismuth and arsenic, and/or one or more halogens such as chlorine, bromine or iodine. Selenium alloys including selenium alloys. This photoconductive material is obtained, for example, by heating selenium plus small amounts of arsenic, etc. and halogens. Satisfactory adhesion of such brittle inorganic photoconductive materials to such flexible photometallic substrates may now be effected more easily and with good results in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention. . Initial bombardment of the grounded or floating substrate with electrons and ions of a non-metallic gas to clean and oxidize, e.g. by evacuating the vacuum coater appropriately modified to a pressure of about 5 x 10 ^-5 Torr or better. , and then backfilling to about 5-30 micron pressure. However, about 10-20
Micron pressures are generally preferred for this purpose. While air under reduced pressure is acceptable, it may also prove advantageous to use various other mixtures of positive ion producing and oxidizing gases at comparable pressures. If the amount of oxygen available for the initial oxidation of the substrate is not less than about 1% by volume of the available gas, and a glow discharge can be connected,
For example, argon-oxygen, argon-air,
Includes argon - CO ₂ or a mixture of pure nitrogen and oxygen. In accordance with the present invention, the initial ion bombardment of a grounded substrate can be up to about 5000 V, depending on the type and pressure of the gas used to form the bombarding ions.
and a "glober" such as an aluminum cathode at a potential of about 3500-5000 volts (Figures IA and IC).
It also turns out that it is best done directly under .
While a "glow bar" is preferred, other known means of producing a glow discharge may be used as an alternative or supplementary source. This source may include, for example, a high voltage hot filament or an electron gun. Place an oxide barrier layer approximately 10-200 Å thick and
Before or immediately after the end of a period sufficient to heat the substrate to a temperature of 55-80°C (approximately 5-20°C under the conditions described above)
minutes, preferably 8-10 minutes), the grounded oxide-bearing substrate is exposed to bombardment by a cloud containing uncharged and ionic photoconductive particles originating from a heated photoconductor source, and the resulting The vapor cloud is exposed to electron or direct gaseous ion bombardment to obtain a small amount of ions of the evaporator photoconductor material. In this situation, simultaneous overlapping substrate bombardment by nonmetallic ions such as argon or nitrogen favors the ionic photoconductor particles with a significantly greater velocity and energy capacity on the substrate than the evaporated uncharged photoconductor material. shows a tendency to displace the more loosely adherent condensed photoconductive particles already placed thereon. This occurs despite the relatively low concentration of photoconductor ions obtained compared to the total amount of thermally generated photoconductor particles. For purposes of the present invention, deposition on a clean oxidized substrate is best accomplished by separately heating the photoconductor donor source to a temperature between room temperature and the maximum vaporization temperature of the photoconductive material. . For this purpose,
The preferred temperature range is (1) favorable to the maximum vapor concentration and field conditions commensurate with the connection of the heated photoconductor source and the glow discharge voltage in close proximity to the substrate, and (2) the maximum vapor concentration onto the substrate. The bombardment of high energy photoconductor particles in the highest possible concentration favors the highest possible conversion of uncharged photoconductor material to charged (ionic) photoconductor material. While various arrangements of electrodes and donor sources are acceptable for this purpose, the most promising ones to date are shown in schematic cross-sections (see Sections IB, ID,
Figure IF). One particularly preferred arrangement uses at least one negative high voltage electrode, such as a rod or wire, conveniently mounted on an insulator between the donor source, such as a heated crucible, and the substrate. The apparatus may include, for example, one or more electrodes in an arrangement above and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the at least one heated photoconductor-material-containing crucible boat. In the case of a multiple crucible boat, this may also include electrodes shared on and between each lip of adjacent crucibles in the coater (see Figures IC-IF). Other suitable arrangements for obtaining high energy ions of the photoconductive material require directing at least one glober to the vapor cloud produced by the donor source (see Figure IB). In addition to the aforementioned physical arrangement of the coating components, it is also important that a suitable concentration of ions be retained with the charged photoconductive particles. In practice, initial treatment of metal substrates (see,
Figures IA, IC, and IE) are best conducted at an atmospheric pressure of about 5-30 microns, and the amount of oxygen present is no more than about 1% by volume of the available gas. However, the subsequent photoconductor deposition step (see
IB, ID, IF), the amount of vacuum is approximately 5
x 10 ^-5 torr or better, and then about 1
It is sometimes desirable to backfill the coating chamber with -30 microns of argon, nitrogen, xenon or similar relatively inert gas. The photoconductor source is conveniently heated by a number of different methods to effectively raise the vapor pressure of the photoconductive material for deposition onto the oxidized substrate.
This may include, for example, resistive heating of one or more crucibles or boats containing the photoconductor material, the use of an electron beam or gun directed at the unevaporated photoconductor material of the donor source, or the use of an electron beam or gun directed at the unevaporated photoconductor material of the donor source. This includes ion beam heating. In any case, the optimum temperature will vary with the photoconductive material, the distance between source and substrate, and the atmospheric composition and pressure used. By way of example, crucible temperatures up to about 350°C, and preferably about 180-300°C, have been found suitable for vaporizing selenium and most of the known selenium alloys under pressures up to about 30 microns. During the photoconductor deposition onto a clean oxide-coated substrate, it is essential that a glow discharge is maintained for the purpose of generating high-energy photoconductor ions during the deposition of photoconductor material onto the substrate. There are no strict limitations on the speed and area. As mentioned above, the relationship between the electrodes and other essential components for carrying out the method of the invention is very generally represented in schematic cross-sections in FIGS. IA-IE. In Figure IA, in particular, elements a and d each represent a metal substrate and a photoconductor donor source (i.e., a crucible containing photoconductor material "M") in a vacuum coater (not shown): element b; indicates one or more aluminum globers (cathode) directed toward the substrate and preferably activated under an atmospheric pressure of about 10-20 microns to effect heating and oxidation of the substrate as desired. This described step is conveniently carried out by initial exposure of substrate a to a high voltage glowbar discharge of about 3000-5000V. The next step is conveniently shown in schematic cross-section by FIG. IB, where a represents the oxidized metal substrate and d represents the photoconductor source, but lacking some photoconductor material M due to evaporation. , and elements c and f represent the negative globebar and positive target electrodes, respectively. These two figures represent a dynamic situation where the first glover (Figure IA) is cut after establishing a clean oxidized substrate, and one or more high pressure glovers c are heated. It is activated to establish a negative glow zone between c and f for the purpose of producing high energy photoconductor ions from crucible d. Alternatively, the second step can be performed by changing the position or orientation of the glover b in FIG. IA if a grounded target electrode such as f is provided. The ground metal wall of the vacuum coater can act in that capacity. In carrying out the second step described, the pressure inside the vacuum coater is preferably maintained at about 10-20 microns;
The donor crucible d is then preferably heated to about 180-300°C as described above to obtain a suitable vapor cloud of photoconductor material. In either case, the second step is carried out such that a glow (ionization of the non-metallic gas atmosphere) occurs at a convenient location and intercepts the evaporated photoconductor material somewhere between the donor crucible and the substrate. . After a period sufficient to deposit about 0.5-10% of the desired photoconductor material (i.e., about 2-5 minutes), the glover(s) are turned off and the pressure is increased to 5 x 10 ^-5 Torr or better. The deposition of photoconductor material is then allowed to proceed optionally by evaporation-condensation in the conventional manner to obtain a total photoconductor coverage of about 40-60μ on the substrate. In most cases, a relatively small amount (approximately 1-5% by weight) of evaporating agent is ionized for deposition onto the substrate. While air under reduced pressure is preferred for the process, it is also possible to utilize argon or a similar inert gas, provided that at least 1% by volume of oxygen is present in the initial oxidation step. By carrying out the second deposition step (see Figure IB) in the presence of positive non-metal ions such as nitrogen or argon, a significant amount is removed from the substrate in favor of the available charged and energetic photoconductor ions. It is possible to replace the accompanying low-energy deposited photoconductor material. The efficiency of this process can be improved by either allowing the substrate to "float" (not connected to ground) or by applying a low voltage (100-500 volts) negative potential to the substrate. Successful impingement deposition therefore often requires a balance between removal and deposition rates to obtain a net coverage effect. The time required to obtain a suitable photoconductive layer will depend primarily on these factors. As mentioned in the introduction, the major advantages of depositing ionized glassy photoconductors on metallic substrates are realized in improved adhesion and improved interfacial electrical properties, and in high-energy ionic states. It is only necessary to deposit a portion of the total photoconductor thickness. Generally speaking, about 0.5-10% is sufficient, with a deposition balance of about 5.times.10.sup. ^-5 Torr and accomplished by conventional vacuum deposition techniques. However, if desired, the entire photoconductive layer can be deposited in the manner described above. Further variations of the process outlined above, and of particular value with respect to reduced power demands, are further represented in schematic cross-section in Figures IC, ID, IE and IF, where element a2 and a4 represent a pre-cleaned metal substrate or base, such as nickel or aluminium, respectively, which is then subjected to a partial vacuum (secondary vacuum).
IC and IE) are first heated and oxidized by lower glow bars b2 and b3 or by other standard means. Crucible boats d2 and d3 contain appropriate amounts of photoconductive material "M" and are equipped with heating devices (not shown) and ion plating rods of solid or tubular structure of convenient diameter. or wire electrodes g2 and g3 are conveniently placed under the substrates a2 and a4 in a convenient parallel axis arrangement, which is activated under a negative high voltage under reduced pressure (the ID and IF
Figure) providing a glow discharge area between crucibles d2 and d3 and the corresponding oxidized substrate a3 or a5.
Immediately prior to or in conjunction with the glow discharge, heating devices in crucibles d2 and d3 are activated to vaporize the photoconductive material and to bombard the desired high-energy photoconductive ions M ^- as well as the oxidized substrate. An uncharged photoconductive material m is obtained. Both the substrate and crucible are conveniently grounded as shown or the substrate can be allowed to float. Furthermore, the ion plating rods do not need to be equidistant from each crucible, especially if multiple substrates are processed in a single coater (see Figures IE and IF). While various sizes of rods or wires and various materials and distances may be used to obtain a suitable ionogenic glow discharge, the rods or wires may be placed parallel to and approximately 2-30" below the substrate(s) to be coated. on one or more 5 to 100″ crucibles
0.25-4″ suspended, variable length 1/16-1/
It has been found particularly useful to use 2" diameter solid stainless steel, aluminum, or tungsten rods. Other combinations of spacing are possible depending on pressure, rod diameter, crucible temperature, etc. With further particular reference to the process depicted in Figures IC-IF, when the substrate is at a temperature suitable for depositing photoconductor material thereon, Glover
is stopped as previously described with respect to the IA diagram, and a glow discharge is initiated by activating ion plating rods g2 and g3 under an atmosphere of approximately 5-20 microns. At the same time, the crucible d2 or d3 is heated stepwise to about 180 to 350°C and about 1-
The glow discharge is then completed by turning off the current (i.e. depending on the photoconductive material used) and is kept in this range for 10 minutes. Subsequent coating of the photoconductor material by simple evaporation-condensation is selectively carried out in the manner described above at a suitable crucible temperature and slightly lower pressure (5.times.10.sup. ^-4 Torr or better). The thickness of the resulting photoconductive layer is positively correlated to the negative voltage applied to the rod-shaped ion plating rod or wire as described above, but is approximately 1-4 KV, and preferably approximately 2.5 KV AC. or DC voltage and
With 1/8-15″ aluminum plated rod, maximum current of about 20 to 25 ma and about 0.2 to
Optimal results are obtained with a minimum current of 0.5ma. Under these conditions, the plating rod will become hot enough to avoid appreciable amounts of selenium deposition at the end of the run. A planetary system of rotating substrates on several 100″ long chains of crucibles with one plated rod/chain yields durable, flexible photoconductor coating(s) on the corresponding substrate or base. It was found to be practical to use a maximum current of only about 167 mA/strand and a minimum current of about 6 mA/strand for the production of a sufficiently adequate supply of high-energy photoconductor ions. The following examples specifically illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention without limiting the invention. Example 1 Named A-1 and having a thickness of 4.5 mils (0.0045"), 10 Nickel alloy test belts with length and diameter of 4.75″ are cleaned with a hot aqueous solution containing 10% by weight “Mitschel Bradford #14 Cleaner” and then rinsed with deionized water for approximately 2 minutes. . Equipped with resistance heating means and about 99.5% selenium
Sample belt A onto a grounded or floating rotatable mandrel in a vacuum coater approximately 6″ away from a grounded or floating stainless steel crucible containing a photoconductor selenium alloy consisting essentially of 0.5% arsenic.
- Attach 1. Two high voltage glovers (500V
) about 3″ from the test belt, the first one GB1 essentially pointing toward the belt at the 10-clock position, and the second one GB2 about the same distance toward the belt with the center at about 5 o’clock, and substantially directed into the space between the substrate belt and the stainless steel crucible.
After evacuating to 5 x 10 ^-5 Torr and backfilling to 20 micron air pressure, apply negative 3000 volts to the first Grover GB for approximately 10 minutes to heat and oxidize the belt.
Applies to 1. Then stop the first glover voltage, then reduce the coater pressure to about 15 microns,
Heat the crucible to below 280°C and turn on a second Grover GB2 (3500 volts) for about 10 minutes.
The second glover is then turned off and straight deposition is allowed to proceed under reduced pressure (5 x 10 ^-5 Torr) for about 25 minutes to obtain an overall uniform photoconductor coating about 50 microns thick. During both steps, the mandrel is rotated constantly at about 10 revolutions per minute to obtain uniform exposure. The belts were then cooled, removed from the coater, tested for electrical properties and flexibility, and the results are reported in Table I below. EXAMPLE Two nickel test belts of essentially the same size and shape as the test belts and designated A-2 to A-3 are cleaned as in Example I and coated as follows: Belt A-2 was coated as in Example I, but with 30% of oxygen (5% by volume) and argon (95% by volume).
μ backfilling is used instead of air during the initial heating and oxidation of the belt under the first glover GB1 and during partial coating under the second glover. Belt A-3 (control) was replaced with belt A-3 (control) in Example I.
I. except that the second step (i.e., the initial deposition of photoconductor material on the oxidized substrate) was carried out at 5 × 10 ^-5 Torr without the use of a glover.
Do this for minutes. After depositing about 50 microns of photoconductive material, the belt is cooled, removed from the coater, tested as in Example I and reported in Table I. Example I using stainless steel, aluminum and brass test belts, respectively, of the same dimensions as Example A--
can be repeated and test results can be compared.

[Table] Example (control) Same as that used in Example I and A-
Two nickel test belts, designated respectively as 4 and A-5, are cleaned and rinsed with water as in Example I. Rotate belt A-4 with rotary mandrel (10 rotations/
minute) and mounted on a selenium alloy (99.5% Se—
A 15″ resistance-heated floating crucible containing 0.5% As) was placed in a vacuum coater at 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ Torr conveniently placed on top of the boat, which was raised stepwise to a temperature of 300°C, and Hold at this temperature for 20 minutes. The belt and coater are then cooled to ambient conditions and the treated belt is removed and tested for electrical properties and flexibility. Results are reported in the table below. Example Belt A -5 is similarly mounted on a mandrel in a vacuum coater on a 15" grounded resistance heated crucible boat of the same dimensions containing a selenium alloy of the same composition as in the example. Bare 1/8″×
Mount a 15" aluminum rod on the insulator 2" above the crucible with its long axis aligned parallel to the test belt and 6" from the test belt (see Figures IC-ID). Also, attach the test belt to the and place an aluminum glover on one side for preliminary electron bombardment of the substrate in the manner shown in Figure IC for uniform oxidation.The coater is pumped down to 10μ pressure and the belt is first exposed to this aluminum glover for 10 minutes. Then, heat the following pot to 230℃, and at the same time apply 2.5KV.
Activate a bare aluminum rod with DC to obtain an approximate rod-shaped glow discharge. 3 minutes later,
Stopping the current and simple evaporation - as a condensation process 20
Continue coating for minutes to give desired thickness. The coater is then allowed to cool to ambient conditions. Remove the belt, test as before and report the results in the table.

Table: Example Two aluminum test belts named A-6 and -7 and having the same dimensions as the test belts used in the previous example were cleaned and washed as described above and then Mount side-by-side on a rotatable mandrel over two 15" crucibles containing the same photoconductive material as in the example. Three 1/2" hollow (1/2"
8) Stainless steel tubes are mounted as ion-plated rods on the lips of the two crucibles, respectively 2", 3" and 2" insulators, in the manner schematically shown in Figures IE and IF. Then Place the rod up to about 10″ below the exposed bottom surface of the aluminum belt being treated. The test belt was exposed to a glover to heat and oxidize the surface, and then the uncharged evaporated photoconductor material and the ionized evaporated photoconductor material were treated in the manner of Example V at 1.8 KV DC for each rod. A shock occurs in the air. After 3 minutes, the current was stopped and coating was allowed to continue for 20 minutes as a simple evaporation-condensation step, and then the coater and test belt were allowed to cool to ambient conditions for removal and testing as in Example V. I'll leave it to you. The resulting coated belts were tested for flexibility as described above and the results are reported in the table. EXAMPLE The example is repeated using the three 1/16 bare stainless steel tubes of the previous example and with the same test belts A-8 and A-9, generally according to FIGS. IE and IF. However, rather than the discrepancy in the previous embodiment, the wires are uniformly placed 1" parallel to each crucible lip. After the oxidation and deposition steps are completed,
The belt is cooled, removed and tested as in the examples. It can be seen that the flexibility and integrity of the coated belts are comparable to those obtained with belts A-6 and A-7.

[Table] Cracks occur when the circumference is bent once.
(No cracks or spalls seen)
It will be understood that while the foregoing examples are intended to be preferred embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited thereto. Note that aspects of the present invention will be listed next. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein: (1) energetic ions of the photoconductive material are produced by at least one negative high voltage electrode conveniently mounted between the donor source and the substrate. (2) at least one negative high-voltage rod-shaped electrode in which energetic ions of the photoconductor material are disposed parallel to the longitudinal configuration with respect to the at least one heated photoconductor-material-containing crucible boat; The above method (1) is made using wire electrodes. 3. The method of claim 3, wherein the initial positive ion bombardment of the substrate is performed at an ambient pressure of about 5-30 microns, and the amount of oxygen present is not less than about % by volume of the available gas. (4) the oxide-coated grounding substrate is made by heating the photoconductive material to a temperature of about 350°C;
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the high energy ions are obtained by directing at least one globebar to the vapor cloud created by the photoconductor donor source. (5) The method of claim 5, wherein the initial bombardment of the grounded substrate is performed in an oxygen-containing atmosphere at about 10-20 micron pressure. (6) Glovers in which the photoconductor donor source is heated by electron bombardment, ion bombardment or resistive heating means (4)
the method of. (7) The grounded substrate is a charge conductive metal belt and the inorganic photoconductor material is selenium, tellurium,
5. The method of claim 4 comprising at least one of antimony, bismuth or corresponding alloys thereof. 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the substrate is a charge-conductive metal belt and the photoconductive layer comprises selenium or a selenium-arsenic-halogen alloy. (9) The method of (3) above, wherein additional photoconductor material is applied to the substrate by vapor deposition of uncharged photoconductor material. (10) The method of claim 4, wherein the initial bombardment of the grounded substrate with high-energy electrons is performed with at least one glover.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures IA to IF are schematic cross-sectional views showing various examples of the relationship between electrodes and other essential components for carrying out the method of the present invention.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. Exposure of a clean oxide-coated substrate to a vapor cloud containing photoconductive material from a grounded or floating donor source, said vapor cloud containing uncharged photoconductive material. the energetic ions of the photoconductive material from the glow discharge, the energetic ions substantially obtained by heating the donor source to effect evaporation of the photoconductive material; Improvement between a photoconductor material containing a metal or metal-coated substrate and an inorganic photoconductive material in charge-blocking contact with this substrate, characterized by bombarding the resulting vapor cloud with electrons and/or gas ions. a photoconductor layer of an inorganic photoconductive material in good charge-blocking contact with a metal or metal-coated substrate and in good charge-blocking contact therewith, Containing flexible photoreceptors. 2 first bombarding a grounded or floating substrate with electrons and gas ions under a glow discharge in the presence of a mixture of air or at least one inert non-metallic ion-forming gas and oxygen; exposing the resulting oxidized substrate to a vapor cloud containing photoconductor material from a free-floating donor source, said cloud containing uncharged photoconductor material and high energy ions from the glow discharge; characterized in that the energetic ions are obtained by heating a photoconductor donor source to effect evaporation and by bombarding a vapor cloud produced by electrons and/or gas ions in a glow discharge. A flexible photoreceptor comprising a metal or metallized substrate and a photoconductor layer of an inorganic photoconductive element or alloy in charge blocking contact with the substrate and having improved durability and adhesion between the components. A flexible photoreceptor comprising a metal or metal-coated substrate and a photoconductive layer of an inorganic photoconductive material in good charge blocking contact therewith, obtained according to a method for obtaining a photoreceptor. 3. Exposure of a clean oxide-coated substrate to a vapor cloud containing photoconductive material from a grounded or floating donor source, wherein said vapor cloud contains uncharged photoconductive material and photoconductive material from a glow discharge. the energetic ions substantially obtained by heating the donor source to effect evaporation of the photoconductive material; and electrons and/or gas ions in a glow discharge. improved durability and adhesion between a photoconductor material containing a metal or metal-coated substrate and an inorganic photoconductive material in charge-blocking contact with this property, characterized by impacting with a vapor cloud that forms A method for obtaining a flexible photoreceptor with photoreceptor properties. 4 first bombarding a grounded or floating substrate with electrons and gas ions under a glow discharge in the presence of a mixture of air or at least one inert non-metallic ion-forming gas and oxygen; exposing the resulting oxidized substrate to a vapor cloud containing photoconductor material from a free-floating donor source, said cloud containing uncharged photoconductor material and high energy ions from the glow discharge; characterized in that the energetic ions are obtained by heating a photoconductor donor source to effect evaporation and by bombarding a vapor cloud produced by electrons and/or gas ions in a glow discharge. A flexible photoreceptor comprising a metal or metallized substrate and a photoconductor layer of an inorganic photoconductive element or alloy in charge blocking contact with the substrate and having improved durability and adhesion between the components. How to get a body.