Abstract: For making it feasible to suit to vacuum processing utilizing a system consisting of an exhaust section and a separable vacuum processing vessel section, to ensure flexibility of production, to prevent dust from attaching onto an article, so as to achieve increase in non-defective percentage of vacuum-processed articles, and also to suppress variability in vacuum processing characteristics among lots, an article is loaded into a movable vacuum processing vessel section, the vacuum processing vessel section is preliminarily pressure-reduced and moved, the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to an exhaust section, and communication is established between the vacuum processing vessel section and the exhaust section to perform vacuum processing. A first opening provided in the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to a second opening provided in the exhaust section and a vacuum seal valve of the first opening which is openable and closable, is opened.

Abstract: In a plasma treatment method of and apparatus for treating the surface of a treatment target substrate by utilizing glow discharge produced by supplying high-frequency power into an inside-evacuated reactor through a high-frequency power supply means, a plurality of impedance regulation means for regulating impedances on the side of the reactor and on the side of the high-frequency power supply means are provided correspondingly to the impedances of a plurality of reactors, and the high-frequency power is supplied into the reactors via the impedance regulation means corresponding to the reactors. Plasma treatment can be made in a good efficiency and a low cost on a plurality of reactors having different impedances.

Abstract: In order to make possible formation of a deposited film of a relatively large area at a treatment rate which could not accomplished by the plasma process of the prior art, and in order to make possible stable production of the deposited film without variation in film quality, in an apparatus and a method for forming a deposited film, a part of a reaction vessel is formed of a dielectric member, at least one high-frequency electrode is arranged so as to face at least one substrate with interposition of the dielectric member, an earth shield is arranged so as to cover the reaction vessel and the high-frequency electrode, plasma is generated between the high-frequency electrode and the substrate, and a deposited film is formed under the conditions in which the following equation:

Abstract: For making it feasible to suit to vacuum processing utilizing a system consisting of an exhaust section and a separable vacuum processing vessel section, to ensure flexibility of production, to prevent dust from attaching onto an article, so as to achieve increase in non-defective percentage of vacuum-processed articles, and also to suppress variability in vacuum processing characteristics among lots, an article is loaded into a movable vacuum processing vessel section, the vacuum processing vessel section is preliminarily pressure-reduced and moved, the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to an exhaust section, and communication is established between the vacuum processing vessel section and the exhaust section to perform vacuum processing. A first opening provided in the vacuum processing vessel section is connected to a second opening provided in the exhaust section and a vacuum seal valve of the first opening which is openable and closable, is opened.

Abstract: An electrophotographic light-receiving member has a conductive support and a photoconductive layer composed of a non-monocrystalline material comprising silicon atoms as a matrix, hydrogen and/or halogen atoms, and an element belonging to Group IIIb of the periodic table. The photoconductive layer has from the surface side toward the conductive support side, a third layer region that absorbs 50-90% of incident image exposure light and a second layer region that absorbs 60-90% of pre-exposure light incident on the photoconductive layer. The Group IIIb element is present such that its content decreases from the conductive support side to the surface side. In three embodiments the photoconductive layer has, respectively: 10-30 at. % H; 10-20 at. % H and 25-40 at % H; an optical band gap of 1.75-1.85 eV, 1.65-1.75 eV and 1.80-1.90 eV and a characteristic energy of each of 50-55 meV.

Abstract: An electrophotographic light-receiving member is disclosed which comprises a conductive support; and a light-receiving layer provided on the conductive support and having a photoconductive layer composed of a non-monocrystalline material comprising silicon atoms as a matrix, hydrogen and/or halogen atoms, and an element belonging to Group IIIb of the periodic table, wherein the photoconductive layer has from the surface side toward the conductive support side, a third layer region that absorbs a specified range of amount of image exposure light incident on the photoconductive layer, a second layer region that is other than the third layer region of a layer region that absorbs a specified range of amount of pre-exposure light incident on the photoconductive layer, and a first layer region that is other than the third and the second layer regions of the photoconductive layer, and wherein the element belonging to Group IIIb of the periodic table is contained in the photoconductive layer such that the content of

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum processing apparatus and a vacuum processing method capable of effectively preventing film peeling generated in a reaction vessel to provide a deposited film of excellent quality with reduced spherical projections. The present invention provides a vacuum processing apparatus or method utilizing a vessel, means for supplying a gas into the vessel and means for supplying an electric power and in which the gas is decomposed by the electric power to generate a discharge, wherein the surface of a member confronted with the discharge satisfies the conditions of (1) the ten-point mean roughness Rz with respect to a reference length of 2.5 mm according to the JIS standard being in a range of not smaller than 5 &mgr;m and not larger than 200 &mgr;m, and (2) the mean spacing S of adjacent local peaks according to the JIS standard being in a range of not smaller than 5 &mgr;m and not larger than 100 &mgr;m.