RF Solutions

Electro Static Discharge

ESD Protection

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is the term given to the discharge of static electricity. We have all experienced what is known as an ‘ESD event’, an unplanned discharge of static electricity, in our everyday lives. For example, if we have had a shock from a metal doorknob after walking across a carpet on a dry day, or climbing out of a car from the metal body of the vehicle.

When our clothes cling to each other after removing them from the dryer, it is caused by an electrostatic charge. In its most dramatic form, the lightning in a thunderstorm is a huge electrostatic discharge.

Static Electricity & ESD Definitions

Static Electricity is defined as an electrical charge caused by an imbalance of electrons on the surface of a material. This imbalance causes an electric field that can be measured and that can influence other objects at a distance.

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is defined as the transfer of electrostatic charge between bodies at different electrostatic potentials caused either by direct contact or by an induced electrostatic field. ESD Protection using coatings can be either grounding or shielding, whereby the charge is dissipated and grounded or the coating shields the device using the Faraday Cage concept.