Effects of DC power on the properties of DLC coatings on the OPC drum

Abstract

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on the organic photoconductor (OPC) drum of the laser printer using the dc-remote plasma enhancement chemical vapor deposition (RPECVD) method. Only methane (CH4) was used as a source gas for DLC coating. The transmittance of the DLC coatings is over 90% and the hardness of the DLC film (130 nm thick) coated OPC drum is higher than 1,000 Hv. Effects of dc-power on the physical properties of the DLC film and the electrophotographic properties of the DLC coated OPC drum were investigated. The hardness and the deposition rate of the DLC film deposited on the OPC drum increased but the transmittance and the surface roughness nearly did not change with increasing the dc power of the dc-RPECVD. The residual potential, the acceptance voltage, and the dark decay rate significantly increase but the photodischarge rate decreases with increasing the dc power of the RPECVD. The optimum dc power is 8.6 kW (950 V, 6A). The friction coefficient of the OPC drum is also lowered by DLC coating. In addition, it was found that the DLC deposition rate could be doubled by imposing magnetic fields around the cathode.