Patent ID: 9091948
Filing Date: 2015-07-28
Classification: G03G

Abstract:
1. An electrophotographic photosensitive member to be negatively electrified, comprising: a conductive substrate; a photoconductive layer which is formed from hydrogenated amorphous silicon on the conductive substrate; and a surface layer which is formed from hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide on the photoconductive layer, wherein the surface layer has a change region in which a ratio (C/(Si+C)) of the number of carbon atoms (C) with respect to the sum of the number of silicon atoms (Si) and the number of carbon atoms (C) gradually increases toward a surface side of the electrophotographic photosensitive member from a side of the photoconductive layer, the change region has an upper charge injection prohibiting portion containing a Group 13 atom, and a surface-side portion which is positioned closer to the surface side of the electrophotographic photosensitive member than the upper charge injection prohibiting portion and does not contain the Group 13 atom, and when a precipitous property of the distribution of the Group 13 atom in a boundary portion between the surface-side portion and the upper charge injection prohibiting portion is evaluated with a following evaluation method A, the precipitous property satisfies a relation expressed by a following expression (A7), wherein the evaluation method A of the precipitous property of the distribution of the Group 13 atom comprises the following steps of: (A1) obtaining a depth profile of a surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member by an SIMS analysis; (A2) making D represent a distance from the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member, in the depth profile, making a function f(D) of the distance D represent an ionic strength of the Group 13 atom at the distance D, making f(D (A3) making D making a standard ionic strength f(D (A4) making a precipitous property ΔZ represent a length in a thickness direction of the boundary portion, in which the ionic strength of the Group 13 atom in the boundary portion between the surface-side portion and the upper charge injection prohibiting portion increases from 16% to 84%, when viewed from the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and when the standard ionic strength f(D (A5) producing a standard laminated film A which has a film A (A6) determining a surface of the film A