Method of forming amorphous silicon film

Claim 1

A method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photoconductive drum comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one plasma generation chamber; (b) providing a reaction chamber which communicates with, and is spaced apart from, said at least one plasma generation chamber, and in which a rotatable drum having an electrically conductive substrate formed on the cylindrical surface thereof is disposed; (c) exciting, in said plasma generation chamber, a plasma generating gas consisting of hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas by electron cyclotron resonance generated by an alternating electric field and a magnetic field, thereby forming a plasma gas; (d) introducing a raw material gas comprising a silicon atom-containing gas into said reaction chamber and directing the stream of said raw material gas toward said drum along a raw material gas feed direction; (e) rotating said drum while introducing said plasma gas from said at least one plasma generation chamber into said reaction chamber in a plasma gas feed direction such that said plasma gas feed direction intersects with said raw material gas feed direction; (f) continuing to rotate said drum while contacting said plasma gas stream with said raw material gas in said reaction chamber thereby converting said raw material gas into radicals; and (g) forming a photoconductive film comprising amorphous silicon on said conductive substrate of said rotating drum by reaction of said radicals with said substrate surface.

Claim 2

A method of manufacturing an electrophotographic photoconductive drum comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one plasma generation chamber; (b) providing a reaction chamber which communicates with, and is spaced apart from, said at least one plasma generation chamber, and in which a rotatable drum having an electrically conductive substrate formed on the cylindrical surface thereof is disposed; (c) exciting, in said plasma generation chamber, a plasma generating gas consisting of hydrogen gas or a mixture of hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas by electron cyclotron resonance generated by an alternating electric field and a magnetic field, thereby forming a plasma gas; (d) introducing a raw material gas comprising a silicon atom-containing gas into said reaction chamber and directing the stream of said raw material gas toward said drum along a raw material gas feed direction; (e) rotating said drum while introducing said plasma gas from said at least one plasma generation chamber into said reaction chamber in a plasma gas feed direction such that said plasma gas feed direction intersects with said raw material gas feed direction; (f) continuing to rotate said drum while contacting said plasma gas stream with said raw material gas in said reaction chamber thereby converting said raw material gas into radicals; and (g) forming a photoconductive film comprising amorphous silicon on said conductive substrate of said rotating drum by reaction of said radicals with said substrate surface.