Definitions and Terminology

Abstract

The task of supervising an electrostatic discharge (ESD) control program is often given to personnel from many technical and educational backgrounds. In ESD in electronics handling, the main types of concern are: spark discharges between conducting objects or materials, brush discharges between a conducting object and an insulating material, and corona discharges from sharp conducting objects and materials. Electrostatic discharges occur because of voltage differences between the objects between which the discharge occurs. In many practical cases, one of the conductors concerned may already be electrically connected to an electrical earth or can be conveniently connected to earth. In practice in ESD control, there are various types of ground that can be used. In the ESD standards IEC 61340‐5‐1:2016a and ANSI/ESD S20.20‐2014, the term grounding is used to mean any of the following: connection to electrical earth, connection to a functional earth, and connection to an equipotential bonding system.