Ptimized Statistical Method For System-level ESD Tests

Abstract

A new method for system-level electrostatic discharge (ESD) tests uses the Mean Time Between Undesired Responses (MTBUR) as the ESD immunity criterion. The MTBUR and other related parameters directly measure a system’s reliability in a particular ESD environment. To arrive at the most efficient possible test plan, the technique calculates the minimum number of ESD pulses a system must withstand to verify, with a specified statistical confidence level, that it has a given MTBUR in a given ESD environment.