Composite xerographic photoreceptor with injecting contact layer

Abstract

A photoreceptor used in xerographic imaging process and normally including a photoconductive layer comprising a mixture of photoconductive particles dispersed throughout the layer with resinous binder material is joined by bonding to a conductive base layer through an intermediate layer which provides a charge carrier injecting interface between the photoconductive particles and the base layer. The charge carrier interface is obtained by forming the intermediate layer from high mass conductive particles dispersed within an insulating resinous material, and causing photoconductive particles in the photoconductor layer to contact conductive particles in the intermediate layer along the bond interface. The conductive particles are selected so as to have available charge carriers at suitable energy levels whereby the photoconductor to conductor particle contact points form individual charge carrier injection contacts which permit certain xerographic imaging processes to be used. The mass and volume loading of conductor particles in the intermediate layer causes such layer to be conductive as a whole whereby the photoconductive layer may be connected to ground or any other potential desired at its backside. The invention has particular utility in combination with a controlled geometry photoconductive layer, and a simple method using heat for obtaining the injecting contact while making the controlled geometry photoconductive layer is described.