As early as the 1400's, European and Caribbean forts were using static control procedures and devices to prevent electrostatic discharge ignition of black powder stores. As electronic devices became faster and smaller, their sensitivity to ESD increased. Many aspects of electrostatic control in the electronics industry also apply in other industries such as clean room applications and graphic arts. Despite a great deal of effort during the past decade, ESD still affects production yields, manufacturing costs, product quality, product reliability, and profitability.

Electrostatic charge is most commonly created by the contact and separation of two similar or dissimilar materials and is called triboelectric charging. The amount of charge created by triboelectric charging is affected by the area of contact, the speed of separation, relative humidity, and other factors. Insulators have an extremely high electrical resistance. Because an insulative material does not readily allow the flow of electrons, both positive and negative charges can reside on insulative surface at the same time, although at different locations.

A conductive material, because it has low electrical resistance, allows electrons to flow easily across its surface or through its volume. If the second conductor is attached to an earth grounding point, the electrons will flow to ground and the excess charge on the conductor will be "neutralized." Static dissipative materials have electrical resistance between insulative and conductive materials.

ESDS Devices fail generally damage is classified as either a catastrophic failure or a latent defect. The ESD event may have caused a metal melt, junction breakdown, or oxide failure. The most common cause of electrostatic damage is the direct transfer of electrostatic charge from the human body or a charged material to the electrostatic discharge sensitive (ESDS) device. Damage to an ESDS device by the ESD event is determined by the device's ability to dissipate the energy of the discharge or withstand the voltage levels involved.

Based on the excellent "Basics of Electrostatic Discharge" by the ESD Association Rome, NY at www.esda.org