A Primer on Electro-Static Discharge Teledyne API T803 CO2/O2 Analyzer Operation Manual
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Walking across nylon carpet 1,500V 35,000V
Walking across vinyl tile 250V 12,000V
Worker at bench 100V 6,000V
Poly bag picked up from bench 1,200V 20,000V
Moving around in a chair padded
with urethane foam 1,500V 18,000V

13.2. HOW ELECTRO-STATIC CHARGES CAUSE DAMAGE

Damage to components occurs when these static charges come into contact with
an electronic device. Current flows as the charge moves along the conductive
circuitry of the device and the typically very high voltage levels of the charge
overheat the delicate traces of the integrated circuits, melting them or even
vaporizing parts of them. When examined by microscope the damage caused by
electro-static discharge looks a lot like tiny bomb craters littered across the
landscape of the component’s circuitry.
A quick comparison of the values in Table 13-1 with the those shown in Table
13-2, listing device susceptibility levels, shows why Semiconductor Reliability
News estimates that approximately 60% of device failures are the result of
damage due to electro-static discharge.
Table 13-2: Sensitivity of Electronic Devices to Damage by ESD
DAMAGE SUSCEPTIBILITY VOLTAGE
RANGE
DEVICE DAMAGE BEGINS
OCCURRING AT
CATASTROPHIC
DAMAGE AT
MOSFET 10 100
VMOS 30 1800
NMOS 60 100
GaAsFET 60 2000
EPROM 100 100
JFET 140 7000
SAW 150 500
Op-AMP 190 2500
CMOS 200 3000
Schottky Diodes 300 2500
Film Resistors 300 3000
This Film Resistors 300 7000
ECL 500 500
SCR 500 1000
Schottky TTL 500 2500
Potentially damaging electro-static discharges can occur:
Any time a charged surface (including the human body) discharges to a device.
Even simple contact of a finger to the leads of a sensitive device or assembly can
allow enough discharge to cause damage. A similar discharge can occur from a
charged conductive object, such as a metallic tool or fixture.
07276B DCN6418