Costly Controversial ESD Myths

There are a number of common misunderstandings and controversies about electrostatic discharge (ESD) program management that can have significant impact on the implementation and maintenance of the ESD program. These misunderstandings or “myths” result in unnecessary expenditures and/or result in a compromise of the program integrity. These myths and controversies, such as latency are often cited by skeptics not wanting to adhere to certain standard ESD procedures. As a consequence, it is important to identify and dispel the myths as well as to understand the potential impact of latent failures.

This tutorial highlights 10 common myths and supporting success studies as well as a success study on latency. The myths and success studies presented here were chosen to provide real-world examples of how an ESD program can be strengthened by understanding the fallacy in each of the myths. This understanding will result in more reliable products that are also more cost competitive. Although not a myth, latency it is a significant reliability consideration that is surrounded with controversy. Some experts will argue that latency is virtually non-existent and others will claim that it is the dominant failure mode. Reality lies somewhere in between. The Latency study cites irrefutable evidence of latent failures in alarming proportions that must be factored into ESD programs and product design.