Conductor

A conductor is a material with low electrical resistance that will effectively attract and transport an electrical charge to ground.

Examples of conductors are carbon, copper, aluminium and water. Practical examples of conductors are a lightning rod and a copper wire.

Device

A device is the product being processed by AHE (e.g., an integrated circuit [IC] or a printed circuit [PC] board).

Decay time

Decay time is the time required for an electrostatic potential to be reduced to a given percentage (usually 10%) of its initial value.

Decay rate

Decay rate is the decrease of charge or voltage per unit time.

Corona

Corona is the production of positive and negative ions by a very localised high electric field. The field is normally established by applying a high voltage to a conductor in the shape of a sharp point or wire.

Conductivity

Conductivity is the ratio of the current per unit area (current density) to the electric field in a material. Conductivity is expressed in units of siemens/meter. In non-technical usage, conductivity is the ability to conduct current.

Conductive

The term “conductive” refers to the ability of a material to conduct a charge to ground; low resistance (i.e. less than 1 meg-ohm (10^(6)) – the closer to 1 meg-ohm, the slower the discharge.)

Conductive material

A conductive material is a material that has either a surface resistance of less than 1 x 10⁴ ohms or a volume resistance of less than 1 x 10⁴ ohms or a surface resistivity less than 1 x 10⁵ ohms/square or a volume resistivity less than 1 x 10⁴ ohm-cm.

Note: “conductive flooring material” is not the same as “conductive material.”

Conductive flooring material

Conductive flooring material is a floor material that has a resistance to ground of less than 1.0 x 10⁶ ohms. The term ‘conductive’ or ‘conductivity’ does not guarantee low charge generation. To prevent static charge and ESD damage to static sensitive components, flooring materials must measure in the required resistance range and either be used in conjunction with ESD footwear/heel straps or be low charge generating.

Component failure

Component failure is a condition in which a tested component does not meet one or more specified static or dynamic data sheet parameters.