Search

Some system-level electrostatic discharge (ESD) tests repeat badly if different ESD generators are used. For improving repeatability, ESD generator specifications have been changed, and modified generators have been compared in a worldwide round robin test. The test showed up to 1 : 3 variations of failure levels. Multiple parameters that characterize ESD generators have been measured. This paper correlates the parameters to test result variations trying to distinguish between important and nonrelevant parameters. The transient fields show large variations among different ESD generators. A correlation has been observed in many equipment under tests (EUTs) between failure levels and the spectral content of the voltage induced in a semicircular loop. EUT resonance enhances the field coupling, and is the dominate failure mechanism. The regulation on the transient field is expected to improve the test repeatability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for analyzing electrostatic discharge (ESD) generators and coupling to equipment under test in the frequency domain is proposed. In ESD generators, the pulses are excited by the voltage collapse across relay contacts. The voltage collapse is replaced by one port of a vector network analyer (VNA). All the discrete and structural elements that form the ESD current pulse and the transient fields are excited by the VNA as if they were excited by the voltage collapse. In such a way, the method allows analyzing the current and field-driven linear coupling without having to discharge an ESD generator, eliminating the risk to the circuit and allowing the use of the wider dynamic range of a network analyzer relative to a real-time oscilloscope. The method is applicable to other voltage-collapse-driven tests, such as electrical fast transient, ultrawideband susceptibility testing but requires a linear coupling path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]