Electrophotographic member with graded tellurium content

Claim 2

AN ELECTROPHOTOTOGRAPHIC PHOTOSENSITIVE MEMBER CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A BASE COMPOSED OF AN ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OR AN ELECTRICALLY INSULATING MATERIAL WHEREIN THE SURFACE WHICH CONTACTS A PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER IS ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE, A PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER ON THE BASE, AND AN ELECTRICALLY INSULATING LAYER ON THE PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER, WHEREIN THE PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER CONSISTS OF A SINGLE LAYER COMPOSED OF TE AND SE, OR TE, SE AND AS EVAPORATED ONTO THE BASE AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST 63*C., AND WHEREIN THE TE CONTENT IN THE PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER IS EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN 6% BY WEIGHT AT THE SIDE OF THE PHOTOCONDUCTIVE LAYER NEARER THE BASE AND PROGRESSIVELY INCREASES IN THE DIRECTION OF THICKNESS TOWARD THE SIDE OF THE PHOTOCONUCTIE LAYER NEAR THE ELECTRICALLY INSULATING LAYER.

Claim 3

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the evaporated photoconductive layer is an incomplete alloy.

Claim 4

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 2 wherein the incomplete alloy consists of selenium and tellurium melted incompletely.

Claim 5

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 2, wherein the incomplete alloy is made by melting selenium and tellurium at 500*-630*C for less than one hour.

Claim 6

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the evaporated photoconductive layer is a mixture containing selenium and tellurium.

Claim 7

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of Se-Te alloy and elemental Se.

Claim 8

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture consists of elemental Se and elemental Te.

Claim 9

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of one of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As and the alloy of two of said elemental substances.

Claim 10

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of one of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As and the alloy composed of three of said elemental substances.

Claim 11

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of an alloy consisting of two of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As and an alloy consisting of three of said elemental substances.

Claim 12

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of one of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As, an alloy composed of two of said elemental substances, and an alloy composed of three of said elemental substances.

Claim 13

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of a mixture of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As.

Claim 14

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is a mixture of alloys composed of two of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As.

Claim 15

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 5, wherein the mixture is composed of alloys consisting of three of the elemental substances Se, Te, and As.

Claim 16

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 1, wherein the material forming the evaporated photoconductive layer was formed as a bar-like member and evaporation was made sequentially from its one end.

Claim 17

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 15, wherein the bar-like member contained tellurium and a substance having a greater p-type characteristic as compared to tellurium, and wherein the tellurium content varied in the length direction.

Claim 18

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 15, wherein the bar-like member was made of a mixture containing Se and Te.

Claim 19

An electrophotographic photosensitive plate as set forth in claim 15, wherein the bar-like member was composed of a mixture containing Se, Te, and As.

Claim 20

The member according to claim 1 in which the photoconductive layer consists essentially of Selenium-tellurium alloy.

Claim 21

The member according to claim 1 in which the photoconductive layer consists essentially of selenium-tellurium-arsenic.

Claim 22

The member according to claim 20 in which the content of tellurium at the base side is less than 6 percent by weight, the total content of tellurium exceeds 10% and the arsenic content is less than 5%.

Claim 23

In an electrophotographic photosensitive member consisting essentially of a base, a photoconductive layer directly on the base and an electrically insulating layer directly on the photoconductive layer, said electrically insulating layer being adapted to retain an electrostatic latent image formed thereon, and said base being composed of an electrically conductive material or an electrically insulating material wherein the surface which contacts the photoconductive layer is electrically conductive, the improvement wherein said photoconductive layer is a single layer consisting essentially of an photoconductive mixture composed of selenium and tellurium evaporated onto said base at a temperature of at least 63*C. and wherein the tellurium content thereof progressively increases, from a value of equal to or less than 6% by weight at the side of the photoconductive layer nearer the base, in the direction of thickness of said photoconductive layer toward the side of the photoconductive layer nearer the electrically insulating layer.

Claim 24

In an electrophotographic photosensitive member consisting essentially of a base, a photoconductive layer directly on the base and an electrically insulating layer directly on the photoconductive layer, said electrically insulating layer being adapted to retain an electrostatic latent image formed thereon, and said base being composed of an electrically conductive material or an electrically insulating material wherein the surface which contacts the photoconductive layer is electrically conductive, the improvement wherein said photoconductive layer is a single layer consisting essentially of an photoconductive mixture composed of selenium and tellurium evaporated onto said base at a temperature of at least 63*C. and wherein the tellurium content thereof progressively increases, from a value of equal to or less than 6% by weight at the side of the photoconductive layer nearer the base, in the direction of thickness of said photoconductive layer toward the side of the photoconductive layer nearer the electrically insulating layer.