Questions tagged [esd]

ElectroStatic Discharge, it's caused by accumulation of electrostatic charge as a result of rubbing, and can damage semiconductor devices like integrated circuits.

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Should I be worried about electro-static discharge?

Doing mostly micro-controller work, I have never bothered with grounding myself with a wrist-strap or any other implementation. Should I be worried about this? How serious is ESD when working at my workbench on projects?
stbtra
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ESD protection of ADC input

I want to protect a MCU (PIC18F67J60) ADC input (0 to 3.3V) against ESD surges. I have seen different approaches and have some doubt what would be the preferred method. Or possible just pros and cons of each method. The methods are: A TVS diode…
JakobJ
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How to inflict ESD damage on a board?

I have a mature product (designed by me) on a PCB. For science, I would like to induce Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) damage to the board so I can see how it behaves afterwards. This test would be purely academic. One idea that comes to mind is to…
bos
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Tips on ESD protection for hobbyist designs

I'm finally getting into simple PCB design for my personal projects, and I'm concerned about ESD protection on exposed parts of my board like USB ports. I know how wrist straps work and I understand things like clamp diodes on modern CMOS IC inputs…
tummychow
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How can I tell if a chip has ESD damage?

I have a several chips (microcontroller, PIC16F1939) some of which have weird behavior (random resets, some pins pulled high some of the time). All of them are running the same software. I suspect that those chips have ESD damage (or some other…
c0m4
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To avoid ESD when you are working on computers, what should you attach your wristband to?

When I'm working on computers, I want to avoid eletrostatic discharge. I have a wristband, but I'm not sure that I'm attaching it to the right thing. Usually, I'll clip it to the case of the computer. However, there are two cases in which I'm not…
Azendale
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Where is the return path for electrostatic discharge (ESD)?

Typically ESD diodes are placed at the input, output or external contact points for product to prevent product being damaged by ESD. What I don't understand is where the return path is for this ESD shock on the battery operated device. Since battery…
Curious KP
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Is a single wrist strap enough against ESD?

I bought 2 anti-static gloves and 1 grounded wrist strap to protect the parts against ESD by assembling computers. I was wondering whether a single wrist strap is enough, because I use to touch parts with my right hand too.
inf3rno
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Why is static-dissipative (sometimes mislabelled "anti-static") polythene pink?

Is it related to the anti-static properties (and therefore "all" pink bags are static-dissipative)? Or is it simply a distinguishing colour added during manufacture which may also be applied to normal polythene?
Martin Thompson
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How big a threat is ESD, quantifiably?

How big a threat is electrostatic discharge ESD to typical integrated circuits, really? OPINIONS VERSUS EXPERIENCE I am not especially looking for opinions (indeed, uninformed opinions on this topic are easy to find), but for quantifiable or…
thb
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ESD effect on MCU pin

I have a question about ESD effect on MCU pins that troubles me. MCU pins configured as input, that are not pulled low or high are likely to make trouble, and very likely to make trouble in case of an ESD pulse. But what about: MCU pins configured…
JakobJ
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How can you protect exposed ground pins from ESD?

If I have a DC powered PCB that is floating (not tied to earth ground), and a human touches the ground plane causing an ESD event to occur, what can be done in terms of design to prevent damage to the ground pins of IC's and other sensitive…
BobaJFET
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Is my simple home setup ESD protected?

I'm going to start this by saying that I have very little knowledge about electronics and ESD. That said, here goes: I have recently taking up this hobby of modifying Super Nintendos, and now after a few of them broke because of my tampering I want…
Bossehasse
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Can an ESD wrist strap protect you from mains voltage?

I've watched the recent video of LTT with ElectroBOOM (The SCAM of Wireless ESD Straps - Feat. ElectroBOOM) and they mentioned that the ESD wrist wrap is essentially there to protect you and the electronics from ESD. I'm wondering if an ESD strap…
Pa0x43
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Ethernet ESD layout

I need help in the layout of an ethernet interface (ESD protections + RJ45 connector). The connector I would like to use already has built-in magnets, so I only have to connect the ESD protectors. Almost all ethernet ESD protection chips have this…
Federico Massimi
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