ESD Essentials

ESD Background

Most people are aware of the effects of static electricity in general terms; that scuffing shoes on carpet and touching a person or metal door handle can produce a small shock. The use of a tumble dryer will often cause a “static cling”, but few people are aware of the damage that the static electricity behind these common events can cause on modern electronic circuits and devices.

As electronic circuits and their connecting pathways have reduced in size over the years, their susceptibility to damage from static electricity has increased. Protective handling and packaging techniques have been adopted by the electronics industry from the chip foundry to the production floor to the field service arena.