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Technical Publications

Have Suspect ESD  Packaging & Materials  Infiltrated the  Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain

Bob Vermillion, CPP, Fellow
RMV Technology Group, LLC
NASA-Ames Research Center

According to the 12 February 2016 edition of the EE Times, President Barak Obama indicated a day earlier that he will sign into law a customs bill passed by the U.S. Senate that includes a provision to combat counterfeit semiconductors (Figure 2)[1]. This will be called the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 644/S.1269). This bill will mandate that U.S. Customs & Border Protection share information and samples of suspected counterfeit EEE parts for inspection and testing that are identified as counterfeits. In 2011, the Semiconductor Industry Association estimated that counterfeiting costs U.S. based semiconductor companies more than $7.5 billion per year.

 Risk of ESD-Sensitive Devices in Proximity to ANSI/ESD STM2.1-Compliant Garments by Field-Induced Model Discharge

During ESD assessments, it is not uncommon to see personnel wearing wool, silk, cotton, polyester blends and static control overalls (ESD Garments). Some ESD garment types consist of an embedded conductive grid network in combination with cotton or polyester blends as seen under a digital microscope (Figure 1, left). Despite favorable cuff-to-cuff (Figure 2 right) or sleeve to-sleeve resistance to ANSI/ESD STM2.1-2013; some ESD garment types are charge generating. So, is a conductive grid network embedded in ESD garments adequate for prevention of triboelectrification or charge generation? (Note: This article does not address disposable garments.)

Chair Measurements of Electrostatic Fields and ESD Events in Proximity to a Static Control ESD Safe Workstation
 
Bob Vermillion and D. Smith
January 30, 2015

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A long standing debate exists within the electrostatic discharge (ESD) control community regarding the use of an ANSI/ESD S1.1-2013 wrist strap as a suitable replacement for static control flooring in combination with ANSI/ESD STM12.1-2013 seating (chair) and ANSI/ESD STM9.1-2014 footwear. This brief article will present a summary of testing in which we measured ESD events related to a chair’s proximity of 12 inches from an ANSI/ESD S4.1-2006 work surface.

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According to NASA-STD 8739.6, “Implementation Requirements for NASA Workmanship Standards,” the relative humidity (RH) range within an ESD control area shall be between 30% and 70%. The first phase of our testing was performed at 50%+/-3% RH and the second phase was performed at 30% RH.

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