Techniques for Investigating the Effects of ESD on Electronic Equipment

Abstract

During of course of determining the mechanism by which electrostatic discharge affects electronic equipment, the process is complicated by the fact that the energy of the ESD event is dispersed across the whole of the electronic system and its connections. A collection of methods is presented whereby the effects of ESD on electronic equipment and potentially other objects can be determined. These methods narrow down the parts of the system affected by applying E and H field stresses locally in the system. Although the stresses are not necessarily ESD, they model the local effects of ESD within the system and allow determination of which parts of the system are affected by ESD so the specific design fixes can be applied to the appropriate parts of the system.