Think Of Static Electricity as Germs and Contamination! Daily life has other examples of hidden enemies where careful procedures must be followed to regularly obtain positive results. One example is sterilization, which combats germs and contamination in hospitals. Damage caused by invisible and undetectable events can be understood by comparing ESD damage to medical contamination of the human…
At this point in our blog series concerning ESD Awareness, we should consider some basic physics: Ohm’s law is an extremely useful equation in the field of electrical/electronic engineering because it describes how voltage, current, and resistance are interrelated. Ohm’s law states that, in an electrical circuit, the current passing through a conductor between two…
There are three ESD Awareness Symbols defined in ANSI/ESD S8.1: ESD Susceptibility Symbol ESD Protective Symbol ESD Common Point Ground To view information about each symbol please click the link or image above. Desco provides downloadable symbol artwork at no charge: ESD Susceptibility Symbol ESD Protective Symbol ESD Common Point Ground Desco utilizes the proper […]
ESD damage is not always visible to the naked eye. ESD damage to electronic components can be: catastrophic and latent. Catastrophic failure causes a failure in an ESD sensitive item that is permanent. The ESD event may have caused a metal melt, junction breakdown or oxide failure. Normal inspection is able to detect a catastrophic failure. A latent…
ElectroStatic charges and ElectroStatic discharges are different. All material can tribocharge (generate ElectroStatic charges). This is static electricity which is an electrical charge at rest. When an electrical charge is not at rest, but discharges (i.e. ESD), problems can occur. All matter is constructed from atoms which have negatively charged electrons circling the atom’s nucleus…
Read more ElectroStatic Charges vs Electrostatic Discharges (ESD)
Measure: Indicate surface voltage and polarity of objects. Control: Insulators must be identified at an ESD work area and must meet the guidelines in the ESDA’s ESD Control Program Handbook-ESD TR20.20. Non-Process Essential Insulators If items that can charge to 125 volts or more*, then one of the following will be used: Remove the item…
In 1985 Apple produced a service video that explained the importance of ESD control when servicing an Apple II. Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple computers, was featured in the 26 minute video explaining the handling of ESD susceptible devices. Other than the fact that ESD components are smaller and more sensitive than ever (see…
Read more Remember the time when Steve Wozniak taught us about ESD?
The 2007 version of the ANSI/ESD S20.20 was updated in 2014. The ESDA now offers a guided presentation of the changes on their website HERE The JAN/FEB edition of the ESDA’s Threshold details the changes – Significant Changes Made From the 2007 Version To The 2014 Version Of ANSI/ESD S20.20 To download a complimentary .pdf of…
Read more Presentation of What’s New in ANSI/ESD S20.20-2014
Most people notice a difference in the ability to generate static electricity when the air gets dryer (the % RH decreases). As an example, walking across a carpet can yield a charge of 35kV at 10% RH [very dry air], but will drop significantly to 7.5kV at 55% RH. In an electronics manufacturing environment lower…
Lenovo Service posted a video on their youtube site called “Understanding Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) for Technicians.” We encourage you to take a look. The video is very informative and does a good job of covering the basics of ESD control when working with ESD susceptible devices or components. The basic practices of controlling ESD when…