Progress Report on a Different Kind of ESD Standard

A working group of the IEEE Surge Protective Devices Committee was formed to prepare a standard in the form of a Guide, describing the various manifestations of electrostatic discharge (ESD). The ESDs with which the Guide is concerned are initiated by humans or mobile furnishings, and affect an electronic equipment victim.[1] The Guide's purpose is not to generate another equipment ESD test standard, but rather to help provide firmer theoretical and practical bases for developing and evaluating such standards. The work is now in progress, and this paper is a status report on the present draft document that has resulted. The draft Guide incorporates standardized terminology and some ESD event models. It has also characterized ESDs in three different voltage regimes, has made a start in relating multiple ESDs to slow and fast discharge current fronts, and includes some characterizations of ESD-generated electromagnetic fields.