Fundamentals of Electrostatic Discharge-KEY STANDARDS AND ORGANIZATIONS

In the early 1980s, there were relatively few reliable ESD standards and few ESD standards development organizations. Today’s ESD standards landscape is not only witnessing an increase in the number of standards but also increasing cooperation among the organizations that develop them.

Today’s standards fall into three main groups. First, there are those that provide ESD program guidance or requirements. These include documents such as ANSI ESD S20.20 – Standard for the Development of an ESD Control Program, IEC 61340-5-1 – Protection of electronic devices from electrostatic phenomena – General requirements, ANSI/ESD S8.1 – Symbols-ESD Awareness, or ANSI/ESD TR20.20 – ESD Handbook.

A second group covers requirements for specific products or procedures such as packaging requirements and grounding. Typical standards in this group are ANSI/ESD S6.1 –Grounding and ANSI/ESD S541 –Packaging Materials.

A third group of documents covers the standardized test methods used to evaluate products and materials. Historically, the electronics industry relied heavily on test methods established for other industries or even for other materials (for example, ASTM-257 – DC Resistance or Conductance of Insulating Materials). Today, however, specific test method standards focus on ESD in the electronics environment, largely as a result of the ESD Association’s activity. This includes standards such as ANSI/ESDA/JEDEC JS-001– Device Testing, Human Body Model.