Electrostatic Discharge Immunity Test Research Articles

Analysis of the ESD Reconstruction Methodology Based on Current Probe Measurements and Frequency Response Compensation for Different ESD Generators and Severity Test Levels

System-level electrostatic discharge testing according to IEC 61000-4-2 has been the main standardized electrostatic discharge immunity testing procedure for the last few decades. The correlation between a failed test result and the injected electrostatic discharge current waveform characteristics, as well as the reduced reproducibility of the standard methodology, have always concerned product manufacturers and test engineers. In an effort to accurately reconstruct the electrostatic discharge current during immunity testing, researchers are focusing more and more on the usability of current probes in capturing the injected current in “real time”. In this article, the results of a proposed methodology, based on current probe measurements and a frequency response compensation method, published in recent bibliography, for different test levels and electrostatic discharge generators are presented, aiming to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the method, investigate its universal applicability, and introduce points of future work toward the current reconstruction during system-level electrostatic discharge testing effort.

Electrostatic Discharge Simulation and Experimental Verification of a Simple PCB Device

In this paper, a simple device under electrostatic discharge (ESD)event is considered. This work presents a simple experimental and simulated setup to measure ESD‐induced voltage to trace on a printed circuit board (PCB) when ESD current is injected directly onto the lumped element. Based on an ESD immunity test platform and ESD full‐wave model, the waveform of coupling voltage, which induced on a PCB, are measured at different discharging position. The voltage waveform of resistor on PCB with chip and without chip are compared to analyze the difference in two cases. The paper proposes a method that compares the measured results of experiment with simulation of full‐wave model. It is found that the results of simulation and experiment is in good match on the whole.

Design and Implementation of ESD Immunity Test for a Combustible Gas Alarm Device

In this paper, a series of electromagnetic compatibility tests were carried out on a combustible gas alarm device. In order to ensure the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) performance of the device, some targeted solutions for electrostatic protection were proposed. Finally, the device passed the test based on analysis and rectification and met the evaluation index in GB/T 1726.3-2018 well, which is very significant to improve the quality and reliability for this kind of products.

Evaluating Characteristics of Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Events in Wearable Medical Devices: Comparison With the IEC 61000-4-2 Standard

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) malfunctions in wearable medical devices have resulted in injuries and deaths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends medical device manufacturers to qualify the electromagnetic compatibility of their products according to the IEC 60601-1-2 collateral standard, within which the IEC 61000-4-2 standard is the recommended ESD immunity test method. This paper shows that the IEC 61000-4-2 standard does not provide adequate immunity for wearable medical devices, due to the differences between the test setup and the real usage. The peak and maximum time derivative of the ESD current and transient magnetic fields were measured during realistic discharge scenarios, where a metal piece, in lieu of a wearable device, was worn around human hand or waist. At five voltage levels from 2 to 10 kV, the peak currents and their maximum time derivatives for realistic discharge scenarios were larger than the most severe discharges obtained from the IEC 61000-4-2 test configuration. This discrepancy between the current results from the IEC 61000-4-2 standard setup and the realistic discharge scenarios indicates that the ESD immunity standard for wearable devices needs to be changed with realistic test configurations, to prevent device malfunctions that can subsequently jeopardize patient safety.

Study of Charged Frame ESD Immunity Testing Specified in ISO 7176-21

The EMC product standard for electrically powered wheelchairs is ISO 7176-21, which requires charged frame electrostatic discharge (ESD) immunity testing. When a moving wheelchair carrying a buildup of electrostatic charge due to triboelectrification of the wheels and floor comes into contact with a grounded metal object, the resulting air-gap discharge may cause the wheelchair to malfunction. Since the IEC 61000-4 series does not cover immunity testing that simulates such ESD events, ISO 7176-21 independently provides the test method. Currently, many companies are developing personal care robots to assist human in daily activities. Considering the risk presented by such robots that involve physical contact with humans, the charged frame ESD test will be a test item for the safety validation of personal care robots that are mobile and battery powered. In practice, however, when charged frame ESD tests are conducted according to the test procedure specified in ISO 7176-21, some issues and questions arise in regard to such matters as the means of charging the robot under test, the material of the insulating support on which to place the robot, and simulation of discharge from a robot rider or wearer. This paper investigates the test procedure of ISO 7176-21 and proposes modifications for enabling charged frame ESD testing to be properly carried out for personal care robots.

Causes of the ESD immunity testing problems in the IEC 61000-4-2 standard

To resolve the poor reproducibility of the electrostatic discharge (ESD) immunity test platform which is specified in the standard IEC 61000-4-2, using a newly designed ESD testing system, the effects of the switch action of ESD generator, the discharge current and its derivative, the radiation field and the imperfect specification of the test method on the testing results were studied. It was found that the effect of the switch action of ESD generator on the testing results was very distinct, and the radiation field caused by the switch action was one of the main cause of the different testing results; different discharge current and current derivative were caused by different ESD generators, which would cause different testing results; the imperfect specification of the test method in the standard was the other reason.

Effect of change in the time of charging voltage on spark discharge from a metal disk

AbstractElectrostatic discharge (ESD) is a source of electromagnetic disturbance. For an ESD immunity test, IEC 61000‐4‐2 is standardized. In the standard, the air discharge and contact discharge method are described for the application of ESD to equipment under test. Air discharge, which is most common in the field, is a more severe test than contact discharge. Air discharge is dependent on the humidity, the speed of approach to grounded material, the structure of the ESD generator, and so on. An ESD event while charged material approaches grounded material has a more significant effect on electronic equipment than an ESD event from stationary charged material with the same charge potential. This peculiar phenomenon is considered because the rise time becomes faster and the peak spark current becomes larger, but is not well understood for reasons such as the difficulty of reproducibility. To promote an understanding of the spark discharge that occurs while a charged material is approaching a grounded material, the effect of change in the time of the charging voltage on the spark discharge from a stationary metal disk was measured. The experiment showed that the spark voltage and peak spark current increased with a change in the time of the charging voltage, and that the amplitude of the spark current spectra also increased with a change in the time of the charging voltage. The experimental results are considered in terms of the sparking resistance formula, and can be explained qualitatively in terms of the increase of spark voltage. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(3): 1–9, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20991

Effect of Change in the Time of Charging Voltage on Spark Discharge from a Metal Disk

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a source of electromagnetic disturbance. For an ESD immunity test, IEC 61000-4-2 is standardized. In the standard, the air discharge and contact discharge method are described for the application of ESD to equipment under test. Air discharge, which is most common in the field, is a more severe test than contact discharge. Air discharge is dependent on the humidity, the speed of approach to grounded material, the structure of the ESD generator, and so on. An ESD event while charged material approaches grounded material has a more significant effect on electronic equipment than an ESD event from stationary charged material with the same charge potential. This peculiar phenomenon is considered because the rise time becomes faster and the peak spark current becomes larger, but is not well understood for reasons such as the difficulty of reproducibility. To promote an understanding of the spark discharge that occurs while a charged material is approaching a grounded material, the effect of change in the time of the charging voltage on the spark discharge from a stationary metal disk was measured. The experiment showed that the spark voltage and peak spark current increased with a change in the time of the charging voltage, and that the amplitude of the spark current spectra also increased with a change in the time of the charging voltage. The experimental results are considered in terms of the sparking resistance formula, and can be explained qualitatively in terms of the increase of spark voltage. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(3): 1–9, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20991

Estimation of the electromagnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges using artificial neural networks

An artificial neural network (ANN) model and more specifically a feedforward multilayer network, which uses the powerful backpropagation learning rule, is addressed in order to estimate the electric and magnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges (ESDs). Plenty of actual measurements, carried out in the High Voltage Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens are used in training, validation and testing processes. The developed ANN can be a necessary tool for laboratories involved in ESD tests, either facing a lack of suitable measuring equipment or for laboratories which want to compare their own measurements. This is extremely useful for the laboratories involved in the ESD tests according to the current IEC Standard [International Standard IEC 61000-4-2: Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Part 4: Testing and measurement techniques, Section 2: Electrostatic discharge immunity test, Basic EMC Publication, 1995.], since the forthcoming revised version of this Standard will almost certainly include measurements of the radiating electromagnetic field during the verification of the ESD generators. The authors believe that the proposed ANN will be extensively used, since the produced electromagnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges, can be calculated very easily and accurately by simply measuring the discharge current.

Characteristic measurement of discharge current injected by the air discharge of an ESD gun onto a ground

AbstractAn immunity testing method for electrostatic discharge (ESD) is being specified in IEC 61000‐4‐2, in which the contact discharge of an ESD gun is being normally specified. Air discharge testing is known to be a severe immunity test compared to contact discharge testing, while the discharge current injected is not well reproduced. Grasping the behavior of the current injected by the air discharge would be helpful in establishing the worst‐case ESD immunity testing. We previously measured the discharge currents for air discharge testing onto the IEC‐recommended current transducer with a commercially available ESD gun, and showed that there exists a specific relationship of Ip·trξ/Vc=constant (ξ=0.75), between rise time tr and current peak Ip. The current transducer, however, has a frequency‐dependent transfer impedance which should affect the measured current waveform. In this study, we investigated whether the above‐mentioned specific relationship can be obtained for air discharge of an ESD gun onto a ground that assumes a metal enclosure of electronic equipment under test. A method was presented for estimating the discharge current from simultaneously measured magnetic fields with two magnetic field probes regardless of the distance between the gun discharge‐point and the probe position. This method was validated for contact discharge of an ESD gun to an SMA connector. With this method, we estimated the discharge currents injected onto a ground for air discharge testing of an ESD gun with intentionally fast and slow approaches. As a result, we could confirm a specific relationship between rise time tr and current peak Ip of Ip·trξ/Vc=constant with ξ=0.57 independent of charge voltages and gun approaches. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(4): 51– 59, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20454

Immunity on transient disturbances in main supply of electronic equipments

Testing immunity on transient disturbances in main supply of information electronic equipments includes Electrostatic discharge immunity test, Electrical fast transient/burst immunity test, Surge immunity test and Voltage dips, Short interruptions and Voltage variations immunity tests. In this paper we performed theoretical analysis of the source, appearance mechanism and consequence of electrical fast transient/burst, and experimental work for Electrical fast transient/burst immunity test of electronic equipments. .

ESDガンのグラウンドへの気中放電に対する放電電流の特性測定

An immunity testing method for electrostatic discharge (ESD) is being specified in IEC 61000-4-2, in which the contact discharge of an ESD gun is being normally specified. Air discharge testing is known to be a severe immunity test compared to contact discharge testing, while the discharge current injected is not well reproduced. Grasping the behavior of the current injected by the air discharge would be helpful in establishing the worst-case ESD immunity testing. We previously measured the discharge currents for air discharge testing onto the IEC-recommended current transducer with a commercially available ESD gun, and showed that there exists a specific relationship of Ip·trξ/Vc=constant (ξ=0.75), between rise time tr and current peak Ip. The current transducer, however, has a frequency-dependent transfer impedance which should affect the measured current waveform. In this study, we investigated whether the above-mentioned specific relationship can be obtained for air discharge of an ESD gun onto a ground that assumes a metal enclosure of electronic equipment under test. A method was presented for estimating the discharge current from simultaneously measured magnetic fields with two magnetic field probes regardless of the distance between the gun discharge-point and the probe position. This method was validated for contact discharge of an ESD gun to an SMA connector. With this method, we estimated the discharge currents injected onto a ground for air discharge testing of an ESD gun with intentionally fast and slow approaches. As a result, we could confirm a specific relationship between rise time tr and current peak Ip of Ip·trξ/Vc=constant with ξ=0.57 independent of charge voltages and gun approaches. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(4): 51– 59, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20454