Compliance
What is ESD?
Electrostatic Discharge
ESD (electrostatic discharge) is the sudden flow of electricity between two charged objects, which can instantly damage sensitive electronics.
Protecting exposed ports and user-touchable surfaces with TVS diodes and careful layout is essential to pass IEC 61000-4-2 and keep field returns low.
Why ESD damages electronics
Electrostatic discharge is a sudden transfer of static charge, often thousands of volts, when a charged person or object touches a circuit. The short, high-current pulse can puncture gate oxides and junctions inside ICs, causing immediate failure or latent damage that shows up later in the field.
Designing for ESD
Protect every connector and user-touchable point with TVS diodes placed close to the connector, keep the protection path to ground short and wide, use ground planes and chassis grounding, and add series resistance or filtering where it does not hurt signal integrity. Products are tested to IEC 61000-4-2; many consumer product standards call for ±4 kV contact and ±8 kV air discharge, and the highest test level is ±8 kV contact and ±15 kV air.
ESD control in handling
Assembly and lab work use ESD-safe mats, wrist straps and packaging following ANSI/ESD S20.20 or IEC 61340-5-1 to prevent damage before the product is even finished.
ESD FAQ
- What is ESD in electronics?
- ESD (electrostatic discharge) is a rapid discharge of static electricity that can damage or degrade electronic components.
- Which standard covers ESD immunity testing?
- IEC 61000-4-2 defines the ESD immunity test used for CE and most other product compliance programs.