Transient field measurement system to analyze the severity and occurrence rate of electrostatic discharge (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. A new impulse monitoring system was designed. This system automatically detects ESD by their associated fields. This monitoring system records electric and magnetic 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 and methods for evaluation of the data are presented.