Conformity Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 14)

The Future of ESD Testing by Robert Ashton, ON Semiconductor redicting the future is a hazardous but useful exercise. Predicting the future involves evaluating the issues of today and anticipating how those issues will influence the decisions made by a variety of people. These decisions map the future. The future of ESD testing will be determined by standards bodies trying to write technically sound test methods, manufacturers that want reliable tests but have considerable economic constraints, and purchasers of electronic systems and components desiring high quality and reliability products at the lowest possible cost. This article will try to peer into the future by assessing what is happening today in the field of ESD testing. ESD testing is divided into two categories. Traditionally, device-level testing evaluates components such as integrated circuits to determine their ability to survive the manufacturing process in ESD-controlled areas. System-level testing is done to determine if systems can survive ESD events in the real world, where there is no attempt to limit exposure to ESD events. There is, however, a grey area developing between devicelevel and system-level testing. Original equipment makers (OEM) want to predict system-level ESD robustness based on 1 Conformity DeCember 2008 P device-level capability. OEMs are therefore asking suppliers to do system-level ESD stress on components. This article will deal with the two areas of ESD testing, but will also reflect on how the grey area between device and system test is affecting our future. We will first discuss device-level testing, focusing first on a movement to define more realistic target levels for device testing, and then discuss individual device tests. System-level testing, and how it will influence device-level testing, will then be discussed. This is intended to be a practical view of the future and will not try to speculate on the perfect ESD test which is “just around the corner,” since it is doubtful that we will ever develop such a test. Device-Level Testing A recent development that will influence the future of devicelevel ESD testing is a working relationship between the Electrostatic Discharge Association (ESDA) and JEDEC to jointly develop device testing standards. This agreement will eventually produce joint standards for human body model (HBM) testing and charged device model (CDM) testing, greatly simplifying the testing environment and also precluding the development of competing test methods for cable discharge event (CDE) and human metal model (HMM), which could have developed without this agreement. © Tmcnem | Dreamstime.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Conformity Magazine - December 2008

Conformity Magazine - December 2008 Contents Editor's Note FCC Warns Regulatory Fee Payers About Potential "Phishing" Commission Prowls the Web to Enforce Its Regulations First DTV Rollout Initiated in Wilmington, NC New Standards List Released for the EU's Directive on the Safety of Toys ESD Association Call for Papers ESDA. JEDEC Announce Standards Development Cooperation Commission Releases Data on Local Telephone Competition The Future of ESD Testing ESD Open Forum Emerging Issues in Standards: China RoHS: One Year and Counting Challenges in Testing: Revisiting 10-Meter and 3-Meter Radiated Emission Measurements Design Fundamentals: Meeting the Shielding Challenges of Injection-Molded Plastics Focus On...Microwave Absorbers Buyer's Guide FDA Recalls Automated External Defibrillators FDA Revises Guidance on Medical Device Tracking Guidance Document Safety of Passive Implants Released FDA Offers Guidance on Marketing Diagnostic Ultrasound Systems EU Commission Issues Correction on Machinery Directive Standards Other CPSC Actions in the News Product Reviews IEC Standards Update UL Standards Update Looking Back: Items from Past Issues of Conformity Advertisers

Conformity Magazine - December 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.