Insulative

The property of “insulation” refers to a material’s ability to store as opposed to conduct electrical current.

An insulator is the opposite of a conductor. It does not allow the free flow of electrons, therefore it will more than likely cause problems to prevent a path to Earth, hold a ‘static’ field etc. Examples of insulative materials include: plastic, glass, wood and rubber.

Isolated conductor

An isolated conductor is a non-grounded conductor. Examples of isolated conductors include: Conductive traces or printed circuit board components not in contact with ESD work-surface.

Ioniser

An ioniser is a specialised device which is designed to generate positive and/or negative air ions. Ionisers help to remove static charge on objects and surfaces by passing an electrical charge to molecules in the air. The primary function of an ioniser is to neutralise electrostatic charges on “process-essential” insulators and isolated (non-grounded) conductors. For more information, see our guide on ionisers in ESD control.

Ionisation

Ionisation is the process by which a neutral atom or molecule acquires a positive or negative charge.

Grounded

The term “grounded” refers to being connected to Earth or some other conducting body that serves in place of the Earth.

Groundable point

A groundable point is a designated connection location or assembly used on an electrostatic discharge protective material or device that is intended to accommodate an electrical connection from the floor material to an appropriate ground.

Ground

In electrical terminology, the term “ground” refers to a conductive connection; representing “zero electrical potential”. It is the safe point of discharge of unwanted static electricity.

When something is grounded, it’s neutral; it has no charge. Connecting a conductive floor to ground ensures that static charges will be diverted to Earth through the conductive flooring system. Examples of typical grounds include: electrical conduit, building steel, copper bus bars and steel rods buried in the Earth.

Field induced charging

Field induced charging is a charging method using electrostatic induction.

Faraday cage

Electrification time

Electrification time refers to the time for the resistance measuring instrument to stabilise at the value of the upper resistance range verification fixture.