ESD Testing to IEC 61000-4-2
System-level electrostatic discharge immunity testing for finished electronic products, with contact, air and indirect discharges run in our ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab or at your site.
- Find Weak Points Early: We aim discharges at every surface a user can touch, so resets and lockups show up in the lab rather than in your customers' hands.
- Every Discharge Type Covered: Contact, air and indirect discharge to the coupling planes, applied at the level your product standard calls for.
- Lab or On-Site Testing: Large machinery, control panels and installed systems can be tested where they stand, using the same accredited standard.
- Engineers Who Debug With You: When a discharge causes a fault, our engineers help trace the coupling path and retest once your fix is in.
Accredited EMC testing
ISO/IEC 17025
A2LA #5179.02
FCC recognized
Part 15/18/22 · wireless
ISED recognized
CAB CA0102
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What is ESD testing?
ESD testing checks whether an electronic product keeps working when a charged person or object discharges into it. System-level ESD immunity testing follows IEC 61000-4-2 (published in Europe as EN 61000-4-2), and it is called up by the EMC standards behind CE marking and by product standards for industrial, medical, laboratory and IT equipment.
This page is about finished products: the spark a user delivers when reaching for a keypad or brushing a metal enclosure on a dry winter day. We reproduce that event with a calibrated ESD generator in a fixed setup, so the result is repeatable.
Why do products fail ESD tests?
An electrostatic discharge is extremely fast. The current it injects spreads from the enclosure into nearby traces, cable shields and ground paths, and it finds the most sensitive circuit on the way.
Failures fall into three types:
- Temporary upset. The product resets, freezes a display, drops a communication link or changes a setting, then recovers on its own or after a restart.
- Latent damage. A component is weakened but still passes. It fails later in the field, and the return looks unrelated to static.
- Permanent failure. A component is destroyed during the test and the function does not come back.
The usual causes are seams and vents close to circuitry, connector pins with protection placed too far from the connector, and metal parts not bonded to chassis ground. Most are cheap to fix at the design stage and expensive once tooling is cut.
How we test to IEC 61000-4-2
IEC 61000-4-2 fixes the discharge waveform, the generator, the ground reference plane and the product layout, which is what makes results comparable between labs. The test uses three kinds of discharge.
Contact discharge
The generator tip is held against a conductive surface and the discharge is triggered inside the generator. It is the preferred method wherever there is exposed metal, such as screws, connector shells and metal enclosures, and it is very repeatable.
Air discharge
On insulating surfaces such as plastic housings, keypads, displays and gaps around seams, the charged tip is moved toward the product until a spark jumps across. Air discharge models a finger approaching the product. It varies more from shot to shot, which is why the standard fixes the tip shape and how the tip approaches the surface.
Indirect discharge to the coupling planes
A discharge to a nearby metal desk or cabinet also affects the product, because it radiates a field into the equipment. We reproduce this with discharges to a horizontal coupling plane under the product and a vertical coupling plane beside it, on each face of the product.
Choosing test points
The test plan lists every point and surface a person can reach in normal use. That typically means buttons, touch screens, displays, connector shells, exposed screws, seams, vents and handles. We agree the points with you before testing and apply at least ten single discharges at each one, in both polarities where the product standard calls for it.
How the test level is set
IEC 61000-4-2 defines four severity levels, running from level 1 for controlled, low-static settings to level 4 for the harshest environments. Each level sets a contact discharge voltage and an air discharge voltage. Air discharges are applied at every level up to the target; contact discharges are applied at the target level unless the product standard says otherwise. Your product standard chooses the level.
| Level | Contact discharge | Air discharge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 kV | 2 kV |
| 2 | 4 kV | 4 kV |
| 3 | 6 kV | 8 kV |
| 4 | 8 kV | 15 kV |
Levels from IEC 61000-4-2:2008 (Edition 2.0), Table 1. The standard also allows a special level, x, set by the product specification.
What do performance criteria A, B and C mean?
The product standard states which of these outcomes counts as a pass, and the report records what we observed.
| Criterion | What it means |
|---|---|
| A | Normal performance during and after the test, within the limits the manufacturer specifies |
| B | Performance may degrade during the disturbance, but the product recovers by itself with no change of operating state or stored data |
| C | Temporary loss of function is allowed if the product recovers by itself or can be restored with its controls |
Permanent damage or a lasting change in function is a fail. We agree with you beforehand how correct operation will be checked.
Which standards call for ESD testing?
Some of the standards we test to that call for IEC 61000-4-2 include:
| Standard | What it covers | Typical products |
|---|---|---|
| IEC 61000-4-2 / EN 61000-4-2 | The ESD immunity test method itself | Any electronic product |
| IEC 61000-6-1 / IEC 61000-6-2 | Generic immunity for residential, commercial and industrial environments | Products with no specific EMC product standard |
| IEC 61326-1 | Electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory use | Test instruments, analyzers, process sensors |
| IEC 60601-1-2 | Medical electrical equipment | Patient monitors, therapy devices, home-use medical products |
| CISPR 35 / EN 55035 | Multimedia equipment immunity | IT, AV and networking equipment |
| EN 50130-4 | Alarm and security systems | Intrusion panels, fire detection, access control |
| EN 50121 series | Railway applications | Rolling stock and trackside equipment |
| IEC 60255-26 / IEEE C37.90.3 | Protective relays | Substation relays and protection equipment |
| IEEE 1613 / IEC 61850-3 | Communication networking devices in substations | Utility switches, routers and gateways |
| EN 61131-2 | Programmable controllers | PLCs and I/O modules |
| KN 61000-4-2 / KS C 9610-4-2 | Korean equivalent of IEC 61000-4-2 | Products entering Korea under KC |
Our accreditation and certificate are on our accreditations page.
Can ESD testing be done on site?
Yes. ESD is one of the immunity tests we perform in the field, using IEC 61000-4-2, the same standard we use in the lab. It suits equipment that is too large to ship or already installed: industrial machinery, control cabinets, kiosks and systems commissioned at a plant.
EFT, surge, conducted RF immunity and voltage dips can be covered in the same visit; see conducted immunity.
How an ESD test runs at Megalab
- Test plan. We confirm the product standard, the test level, the performance criteria and the operating modes, then agree the test points with you.
- Setup. The product is set up over the ground reference plane in its table-top or floor-standing arrangement, with cables and support equipment laid out as the standard requires.
- Discharges. Contact, air and indirect discharges are applied at each test point at the levels the test plan sets, in both polarities where the product standard calls for it.
- Monitoring. We watch the product through the run using the agreed method, such as your test software or a communication link, and log any anomaly against its point, polarity and level.
- Report. You receive an accredited test report with the test points, levels applied, observations and the criterion met.
If a discharge causes a failure, our engineer shows you where it happened and helps work out the path. ESD checks can also be added to an EMC pre-scan visit.
Technical specifications
- Discharge types: contact, air, and indirect to horizontal and vertical coupling planes
- Polarity: positive and negative
- Discharge network: 150 pF / 330 ohm, as IEC 61000-4-2 specifies
- Coupling planes: 1.6 m x 0.8 m horizontal, 0.5 m x 0.5 m vertical
- Setups: table-top and floor-standing arrangements per IEC 61000-4-2
- Location: our lab in Aurora, Ontario, or at your site
Why test ESD with Megalab?
Testing that comes to you. On-site ESD, EFT, surge and dips let installed and oversized equipment be tested without shipping it.
Relay and substation standards. We test to IEC 60255-26, IEEE C37.90.3 and IEEE 1613 alongside the generic, medical and IT standards, so utility equipment is covered in one place.
Engineers in the room. Our team works through failures with you as they happen.
One lab for EMC, safety and environmental. A medical device can go through IEC 60601-1-2 ESD and IEC 60601-1 safety in the same building.
What we need to quote your ESD test
- Product type, photos, dimensions and weight
- Power: mains (single or three phase), battery or DC
- Target markets, the standard you are testing to, and the level if known
- Operating modes, and how we can tell the product is working correctly
- Cables and ports, and samples available
- Lab or on site, and whether you want a pre-scan first
Send us the details and we will confirm the requirement and quote it. We respond within 24 hours.
ESD testing FAQ
An ESD generator applies discharges to the product at defined test points while it runs in its normal operating mode. Metal surfaces get contact discharges, insulating surfaces get air discharges, and coupling planes beside and under the product get indirect discharges. The product is monitored throughout and judged against the performance criterion its standard sets.
For finished electronic products, the test method is IEC 61000-4-2 (EN 61000-4-2 in Europe). Product and generic standards, such as IEC 61000-6-2, IEC 61326-1 or IEC 60601-1-2, then specify the test level and the acceptance criterion. Protective relays use IEC 60255-26 or IEEE C37.90.3.
Contact discharge touches the tip to a conductive surface before discharging, so it is very repeatable. Air discharge brings a charged tip toward an insulating surface until a spark jumps, like a finger approaching a plastic housing.
Your product standard decides. IEC 61000-4-2 defines four levels, and each product or generic standard names the one that applies, usually with one level for contact discharge and another for air discharge. Send us the standard and we will confirm the level before quoting.
It shows that a product tolerates the static it will meet in normal use and produces the evidence a declaration of conformity or customer specification requires. It also finds design weaknesses while fixes are still cheap.
Ready to test? Send us your product details and we will confirm the requirement and quote it.
Related tests: Conducted immunity · Radiated immunity · EMC pre-scan · EMC testing