SafetyTac™ FREE GUIDE TO ESD and Floor marking

Electrostatic Discharge, or ESD, is a single-event, rapid transfer of electrostatic charge between two objects, usually resulting when two objects at different potentials come into direct contact with each other.  ESD can also occur when a high electrostatic field develops between two objects in close proximity.  ESD is one of the major causes of device failures in the semiconductor industry.

Electrostatic charge build-up occurs as a result of an imbalance of electrons on the surface of a material.  Such a charge build-up develops an electric field that has measurable effects on other objects at a distance.  The process of electron transfer as a result of two objects coming into contact with each other and then separating is known as 'triboelectric charging'.