ESD EFFECT ON ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

ESD can have disastrous effects on electronic components. With ICs operating of supply voltages of 5 V and less these days, and with the feature sizes measured in fractions of a micron the static charges that go unnoticed in everyday life can easily destroy a chip. Worse still these effects may not destroy the chip instantly, but leave a defect waiting to cause a problem later in the life of the equipment. In view of their sensitivity to static, most semiconductor devices today are treated as static sensitive devices, SSD. To prevent damage they must be handled in anti-static areas, often called EPAs (Electrostatic Protected Areas). Within these areas a variety of precautions are taken to ensure that static is dissipated and that the SSD, static sensitive devices do not experience any static discharges. Benches with dissipative surfaces, anti-static flooring, wrist straps for operators and many more items all form part of these anti-static areas.

ESD sensitivity
Some electronic devices are more sensitive to ESD than others. However to put the problem in perspective it is worth relating the levels of static to those to supply voltages. One would not consider applying a voltage of even fifty volts to a logic device. Yet static voltages of several kilovolts are often applied to them by careless handling. The devices that are most sensitive to ESD are generally those which include FETs. These devices have very high impedances which do not allow the charge to dissipate in a more controlled fashion. However this does not mean that bipolar devices are immune from damage. Standard CMOS chips can be damaged by static voltages of as little as 250V. These include the 74HC and 74HCT logic families are widely used in many designs using "glue logic" because of their lower current consumption. However many of the new microprocessors and LSI chips use very much smaller feature sizes, and cannot withstand anything like these voltages, making them very sensitive to ESD. Many new devices would be destroyed by operating them with a supply voltage of 5 V, and they are corresponding more susceptible to damage from ESD. Logic devices are not the only devices requiring anti static precautions to be taken. GaAsFETs which are used for RF applications are very susceptible to damage, and can be destroyed by static voltages as low as 100V. Other forms of discrete FETs are also affected by ESD. MOSFETs which are again often used for many RF applications are very sensitive. Even ordinary bipolar transistors can be damaged by potentials of around 500V. This is particularly true of the newer transistors which are likely to have much smaller internal geometries to give higher operating frequencies. This is only a broad indication of a very few of the ESD susceptibility levels. However it indicates that all semiconductor devices should be treated as static sensitive devices, SSD.

It is not only semiconductor devices that are being treated as SSDs these days. In some areas even passive components are starting to be treated as static sensitive. With the trend to miniaturisation individual electronics components are becoming much smaller. This makes them more sensitive to the effects of damage from ESD.

Electrostatic discharge mechanisms

The way in which the electrostatic discharge, ESD, takes place is dependent on a large number of variables. Most of these are difficult to quantify. The level of static which is built up varies according to the materials involved, the humidity of the day, and even the size of the person has an effect. Each person represents a capacitor on which charge is held. The average person represents a capacitor of about 300 pF but this will vary greatly from one person to the next. The way in which the discharge takes place also varies. Often the charge will be dissipated very quickly: typically in less than a hundred nanoseconds. During this time the peak current can rise to as much as twenty or thirty amps. The peak current and the time for the discharge are dependent upon a wide variety of factors. However if a metal object is used, like a pair of tweezers or thin nosed pliers the current peak is higher and reached in a shorter time than if the discharge takes place through a finger. This is because the metal provides a much lower resistance path for the discharge. However whatever the means of the discharge, the same amount of charge will be dissipated.

IEC61000-4-2 and other simulated waveforms

In order to combat ESD and to prevent damage resulting it is necessary to look at the different scenarios that may occur and to characterise them. These scenarios will exhibit different levels of voltage build up, different charge levels, and different discharge characteristics. Currently there are a number of methods for rating integrated circuits for ESD performance within the manufacturing environment. Three common methods include:: 1. HBM: Human Body Model - this model simulates a person becoming charged and then the discharge occurring via a bare finger through the circuit under test to ground. 2. MM: Machine Model - this model simulates a charged manufacturing machine, discharging through the device to ground. The machine will have a conductive surface and therefore the resulting current levels can be much higher but for a shorter time. 3. CDM: Charged Device Model - this simulates an integrated circuit becoming charged and then being discharged to a grounded metal surface. Gain short but high current levels may be experienced. These methods work well for testing ICs within a manufacturing environment, but are not as applicable for system level applications. For this, electronics items including cellphones, MP3 players, digital cameras and many more that have external connections need to be able to withstand electrostatic discharges.

The IEC61000-4-2 standard defines standard test conditions that electronic equipment should withstand. It assumes that the user will take no precautions to prevent any ESD damage, and it defines a variety of levels that the equipment should withstand. The typical curve for an electrostatic discharge defined by IEC61000-4-2 has a rise time of about 1 ns and a peak current level of around 30A. The waveform is used as part of testing of the susceptibility of electronics equipment to electrostatic discharges.

IEC61000-4-2 pulse waveform

ESD damage and failure mechanisms

The way in which ICs fail as a result of ESD also varies, and it is also dependent upon a number of factors including the way in which the charge is dissipated to the topology within the IC. One of the most obvious way in which an IC can fail as a result of ESD occurs when the static charge represented as a very high voltage gives rise to a high peak current causing burn out. Even though the current passes for a very short time, the minute sizes within ICs can mean that the small interconnecting links wires or the devices in the chip itself can be fused by the amount of heat dissipated. In some instances the connection or component may not be completely destroyed. Instead it may only be partly destroyed. When this happens the device will continue to operate and may have no detectable reduction in its performance. At other times there may be a slight degradation in operation. This is particularly true of analogue devices where small fragments of material from the area of damage can spread over the surface of the chip. These may bridge or particularly bridge other components in the chip causing the performance to be altered or degraded. Another way in which ESD can cause failure is when the voltage itself causes breakdown within the IC. It is quite possible for the voltage to breakdown an insulating oxide layer leaving the IC permanently damaged. Again this can destroy the chip immediately, or leave a partly damaged area with a latent failure.

Charge can also be transferred to electronic components in other ways and cause damage. It may result in damage either from voltage breakdown or by generating current to flow in the device. This may occur because a highly charged item will tend to induce an opposite charge in any article near it. Plastic drinks cups are very susceptible to carrying high static voltages and if they are placed on a work surface next to a sensitive piece of electronics they can induce a charge that may lead to damage. While good laboratory and workplace practice bans drinks from work areas, these cups should never even be used as receptacles for small bits such as screws, components, etc.

Latent ESD damage

When damage has been caused to the device, but it still remains operational, the defect leaves it with what is termed a latent defect. This form of ESD damage may lead to a failure later in its life. Subsequent current surges resulting from turning the equipment on, or even as a result of normal operation may stress the defect and cause it to fail. This may also be brought about by vibration in some cases.

Latent ESD damage caused inside an IC These latent defects are of particular concern because this form of ESD damage may lead to failures later in the life of the equipment, thereby reducing its reliability. In fact manufacturing plants with poor anti-static protection are likely to produce low reliability equipment as a result of this. In fact it is estimated that for every device which suffers instant damage at least ten are affected by latent damage and will fail at a later date. Another form of latent ESD damage occurs when large current pulses pass through metalsemiconductor contacts. The heating arising from this may be sufficient to cause local alloying of the aluminium and silicon. This may create what are termed alloy spikes that can propagate either horizontally or vertically from the contact pad. Eventually these may give rise to shorts with nearby junctions. In addition to this it is found that the corners of diffusion wells within integrated circuits are very prone to latent ESD damage. This results from the field enhancement that occurs in these regions.

ESD Investigations
Although it is not easy to determine the cause of destruction of a device, some specialist laboratories have the means of making these investigations. They accomplish this by removing the top of the IC to reveal the silicon chip beneath. This is inspected using a microscope to reveal the area of damage. These investigations are relatively costly. They are not normally undertaken for routine failures. Instead they are only undertaken when it is necessary to determine the exact cause of the failure.

ESD protection
With ICs being prone to damage so easily, it is necessary to consider all semiconductor devices, and often many passive devices as static sensitive devices SSD. They should only be handled in the special anti static EPAs. These EPAs use a variety of products including ESD workbenches, ESD mats, ESD wrist straps, ESD bags and ESD packaging, etc. to provide an area in which static is dissipated without the risk of causing ESD damage. There are many ways in which protection against ESD can be introduced. Sometimes the ESD protection is more appropriate for commercial premises, but there are many ways in which the hobbyist and service engineer can also protect against ESD without the need for a complete protected area, and also at a reasonable cost. It is absolutely necessary for electronics production organisations to take the effects of static seriously. Not only can static cause instant failures, but of more concern, it can introduce latent failures, where the component will operate for some while and fail once in service. This has been shown to considerably reduce the long term reliability of an electronic unit. There is a large variety of products available, that enable precautions to be taken against static and its effects on electronics equipment. These range from anti-static mats, ESD benches, ESD wrist straps, ESD flooring, anti-static bags, and many other items. However when assessing what is needed for a particular area it is necessary to know a little about how to protect against the effects of static, and as a result, what anti-static products are really needed. Basics of protecting against static When dealing with static sensitive devices (SSDs) there are a number of ways in which the effects of static and static discharges can be minimised. In order to manufacture equipment that will be reliable, it is necessary to implement all of tem, but for the home constructor, it is not cost effective to do this. Instead a sensible approach to static should be taken, and this should be adequate for most instances.

The main steps that should be taken to prevent poor quality resulting from ESD are: 1. Create an Electrostatic Protected Area (EPA) sometimes called an Electro-Static Discharge Protected Area (ESDPA), i.e. an anti-static area where the equipment will be worked upon. 2. Ensure that all components and assemblies are stored under conditions where they will not experience static discharges. 3. Design sub-assemblies or boards and the overall equipment so that they are protected against the effects of static discharge on any lines entering of leaving the board or equipment. 4. Ensure that people who come into contact with static sensitive devices are aware of the precautions they need to take. If these precautions are observed, then it has been shown that considerable improvements in reducing the initial failures and increasing the long term reliability can be obtained. Setting up an Electrostatic Protected Area (EPA). To avoid static build up in the area where electronic components and boards are being handled the bench surfaces should be able to remove any static build up which occurs. If there is an existing work bench then it is possible to buy a carbon impregnated rubber mat to place on the bench. If a new bench is being installed then special static dissipative surfaces can be used. If it is too low then it may affect the operation of a board assembly placed upon it. In addition to this any charge needs to be removed in a controlled manner to prevent any damage. Thus a conductive bench is as bad as a totally insulating bench, apart from the fact that a conducting bench would have a great risk of shorting out any boards placed on them. ESD wrist straps (i.e. antistatic wrist straps) are also a requirement. These anti-static wrist straps ensure that any charge built up on a person working on the equipment is safely dissipated. The antistatic wrist strap consists of two sections. The antistatic wrist band itself which is worn around the wrist. This is connected to earth via the lead which incorporates a large value resistor, normally in excess of 1 Mohm. The value of the integral resistor is high for two reasons. The first is safety, to prevent any injury should the supposedly earthed end of the lead becoming live. The second is to ensure that any charge build up leaks away in a controlled fashion. Antistatic wrist bands should be regularly tested to ensure they have not become open circuit. Without a test of this nature a faulty strap could go undetected for many months. Many companies insist that every strap that is in use is tested every day. In this way any defects can be discovered before they cause too much damage. The antistatic wrist band needs to have a connection to earth or ground. This can be achieved in a number of ways. It is possible to connect the ESD wrist band, the static dissipative bench top and any other points together a junction box. These junction boxes often incorporate further large value resistors, often 1 Mohm. Alternatively it is possible to connect the strap to the bench

surface or conductive mat and then this is connected to earth ground. Often a special mains plug with a connection to only the earth pin can be used. The type of flooring needs to be considered. Flooring made out of acrylic materials is likely to generate very high levels of static. Acrylic carpets are particularly bad. Natural fibres like wool are much better. Even nylon is not as bad as an acrylic floor. To overcome any problems cause by flooring there is a wide variety of conductive or static dissipative coverings which can be installed if required. If static dissipative flooring is to be used conductive footwear must be worn. Many shoes have rubber soles and heels which provide a very high degree of insulation and make any floor conductivity useless. As most people will want to wear their normal shoes it is possible to use a heel strap which fits over part of the shoe. This provides an acceptable path to earth past the shoe. Clothing is another area that can be considered. Clothes of wool, cotton or even polyester cotton are normally not a problem. However some synthetic clothes can develop very high levels of static of their own even if the person wearing them is grounded by the use of a wrist strap. Acrylic ties can be a particular problem as they can pass very near to equipment. To overcome this type of problem special static dissipative overalls can be worn. These normally have a relatively high conductivity to contain any static fields which might be generated. Finally chair coverings should also be investigated. They should not be of the type that generate high levels of static. In some instances they may need to be dissipative and connected to ground. Again there are products available for this. Antistatic soldering irons There is a wide variety of soldering irons available on the market today. Many are quite suitable for work with static sensitive devices. The main requirement is that the bit used for soldering should be earthed. In general it is recommended that the resistance to earth should be less than five ohms. Any irons which are thermostatically controlled should ideally use a zero voltage switching system. This prevents large spikes caused by the switching of the thermostat from appearing at the tip of the iron and causing damage to the equipment. Antistatic storage Whenever an electronic component or assembly is transported or stored it should be placed in suitable packing to ensure that it is not damaged. The black conductive bags for boards and components are now commonplace in the electronics industry. Whilst they are very good, care should be taken to ensure that no boards with "on board" batteries are stored in them. The reason for this is that the conductivity of these bags is quite high and it can discharge the battery. Partly as a result of this problem many boards are stored in bags which have a pink or grey tint to them. These ones have a much higher resistance and are able to protect against the effects of static without allowing significant levels of current to flow. Their success is measured by the fact that most computer boards are delivered in bags of this type.

Components themselves have to be contained within the correct containers. Again the black bags are often used for many of the larger items. For ICs there are special tubes. Again these must be static dissipative. The black conductive foam is also very useful. Odd ICs can be conveniently stored on it by pressing the legs into the foam. The foam is widely available costing a few pounds for a sheet about a foot square. Most people tend to acquire small pieces over the years as they buy static sensitive ICs from time to time. However before using any samples of unknown origin it is worth checking that they are the conductive variety. A simple check on the ohms range of a test meter will reveal if it is conductive or not. Normally the resistance will be relatively low, a few hundred ohms at most, but this will obviously depend on the area of the test probes in contact with the foam. Provided that some conductance is shown the foam will be suitable to use. It is even possible to buy special boxes for ICs which are lined with suitable conductive foam. These will not be used for normal run of the mill ICs but are ideal for use on some occasions.