| Definitions adapted from IEC 61340-5: |
|
Electrostatic discharge:
A sudden transfer of electrostatic charge between bodies at different electrostatic potential, usually as a spark as the bodies approach one another.
|
|
Ohm:
Unit of electrical resistance.
|
|
Ohm per square:
An obsolete unit of surface resistivity of thin, single - layer materials. It was determined using a square probe that is no longer part of the new ESD standard in use in Europe.
|
|
Electrostatic conductive:
Resistance (Rs, Rv or RG) of less than 105 ohm but greater than 103 ohm, usually measured with a DC voltage of 10 volt.
|
|
Electrostatic dissipative:
Resistance greater than 105 but less than 1012 ohm, usually measured with a DC voltage of 100 volt.
|
|
Insulative:
Resistance greater than 1012 ohm.
|
|
Static decay time:
Time needed for a charge with a given potential e.g. of 1000 volt to be reduced to, usually, 10% of its initial potential. Used to better characterise materials of high resistance, usually above 109 ohm (1010 in IEC 61340-5-1).
|
|
Antistatic:
Many materials hold an electrostatic charge after rubbing or separation from another material. Antistatic materials do not, or only very slightly, generate a charge (see low-charging). Astatic: A synonym for 'antistatic' (see low-charging).
|
|
Low-charging:
Material which does not charge when rubbed with, or seperated from other materials. Note: The terms astatic and antistatic have previously been used to describe this property definition.
|
|
Surface resistance:
The resistance, usually expressed in ohm, measured between two electrodes (of defined size, weight and hardness) placed apart on the same side of a planar material (such as a bench mat or a packaging film). The standard or the test method should be noted.
|
|
Volume resistance:
The resistance, usually expressed in ohm, measured between two electrodes (of defined size, weight and hardness) placed on opposite sides of a planar material (such as a bench mat or a packaging film). The thickness of the material and the test method should be noted.
|
|
ESD protected area:
An area, small or large, such as a work station or a factory, designed to allow handling of ESD sensitive devices with a defined level of risk of damage by ESD.
|
|
Ground:
A large conducting body, such as the earth or the steel frame of a building or the hull of a ship, used as a return path for electric currents and as an arbitrary zero reference point.
|
|
EPA ground facility:
A fixture, connected to ground or to the earth of the electrical mains, or to the steel frame of a building, to which are run one or more earth bonding points.
|
|
EPA earth bonding point:
A grounded fixture to which EPA equipment may be connected or 'bonded', usually via a grounding wire or cord.
|
|
Earth grounding point:
A connector such as a stud, usually fixed to a bench mat or wristband, to which a grounding cord can be fixed. Also known as a groundable point.
|