ESD Testing (Electro Static Discharge) Testing

ESD Immunity is one of the most common immunity tests. For an example of ESD in everyday life, have you ever felt static shock when you sit in your car with synthetic clothing, go for a long drive, get out of the car, and then touch someone else or a door handle at a gas stop?

This is ESD: an arc is created between the car and your body due to a spark induced by a high voltage differential of several kilovolts when your body touched the car’s chassis which induced an accumulation of a large voltage in either your body or the car’s chassis.

ESD Immunity testing is comprised of noting down any product area that could come in contact with a human being and testing each area by subjecting them to electrostatic discharges. There are also indirect ESD discharges applicable when establishing compliance with a standard.

One of the electromagnetic compatibility tests (EMC test) includes ESD testing. ESD testing simulates multiple electrostatic impacts that may be encountered by devices either during transit or service. An electrostatic discharge evaluation specifies when a substance conforms to the protective region and procedures for the ESD.

ESD may migrate via air or contact. The Human Body Approach is the most popular ESD test. The test simulates the effect of a person discharging electrical energy on an electronic component. This energy is a static aggregation.

Currently, two ESD research methods exist. First off is the air approach, and the second is the contact approach. The ESD testing of the air method involves transferring a charged generator or discharge component, such as an ESD pistol, to the test device. Several considerations can affect research for ESD. These involve humidity, the velocity and temperature of the discharge object against the test system. In low temperature and low humidity conditions, ESD incidents are far more frequent.

The ESD touch system monitoring helps to eliminate the influence of environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. This research procedure requires being in close contact with the system to be evaluated by an ESD generator. Throughout the whole evaluation, this touch is in place. Although this form of research is typically consistent under environmental circumstances, ESD interaction rarely occurs spontaneously.

An ESD evaluation ensures that the device performs properly according to the specifications of the test and the operating procedures of the manufacturer. Generally, ESD monitoring is part of a broader EMC evaluation schedule for compliance with product approval.