Matrix Technical Support Mailer - 2:

Electro Static Discharge (ESD)

18 J anuary 2006

Dear Friends,

We always come across the electronic damages happening in electronic cards by unknown reasons.
I would like to bring one of such reasons to your notice.

Electro Static Discharge (ESD) is one of the major reasons for such damages. In our regular life
we experience the ESD very often but it does not come to our notice just due to unawareness of the
same. ESD may not cause terrible problems while enjoying you hobby, but it will cause big
problem if you are handling our electronics cards without taking precautions against ESD.

Few examples of ESD are highlighted below.

1. An experience of your shirt clinging to you.
2. Feeling an electric shock when you open the car or office door.
3. Crackling sound when you take off your sweater or woolen jacket.

If opposed polarity charge is generated on the wears, they are pulled each other, but if same polarity
charge exists on the wears, they are pushed.

If electro-static discharge (ESD) occurs when static charge moves to the other objects, electrical
shock, crackling sound or spark is detected.
The biggest natural ESD is lightning. Though not as big as lightning, ESD does unknown mischief.

How is Static charge generated?

Triboelectricity
In general, the friction between isolator and isolator or isolator and metal naturally generates static
charge most frequently. If metal is not grounded, it will be charged as well (This is true in the
following cases).

Peeling
This is similar to above triboelectricity. When a thin sheet is peeled off the insulated portion of the
electronics devices, static charge is generated. This does not naturally occur very often, but does
occur often in the production line of the electronics equipments, and may cause big damages. To
remove a protection sheet from LCD display is one of the typical example.

Field induced charging
There are occasions static charge is generated though two objects are not contacted as above. If a
charged object moves against other object, static charge of the other object will be increased or
decreased. This is called as a field induced charging. The moving charged thundercloud charges
neighboring clouds because of field induced charging.

Damage examples of ESD
It is almost true to think that unknown reasons of the electronic equipment failures are because of
ESD. But in the production lines of the components used in these electronic equipments, yield
decreases by degradation or damage by ESD and field failure rate of these components is
increasing.

Precautionary steps to avoid damages due to ESD.

1. Carry electronic cards strictly in the antistatic bags.
2. Please hold the cards from its edges. Do not touch any components of the cards.
3. To avoid the occurrence of static charge or discharge due to friction, keep the cards
separate from one another and do not stack them directly on top of one another.


Technical Support Team
Waghodia.