About the different methods of observing ESD

To design electrostatic discharge (ESD) robust equipment, the occurrence rate and the intensity of the pulses must be known. To check the efficiency of an ESD control program methods for observing ESD are necessary. Different methods are possible for monitoring of ESD. Some methods are presented and compared. A new impulse monitoring system was designed. This system automatically detects ESD by the associated fields. This monitoring system records E and H field values, their peak derivatives and spectral distribution with more than 1 GHz bandwidth. Furthermore, environmental information (temperature and humidity) and time are recorded. The monitoring system is described. Methods for evaluation of the data are presented.