ESD Mitigation

Your factory has all the protection ESD practices and standards require. Wriststraps, static-dissipative floors, ionizers, dissipative bags - you have it all. Yet, something brought you to this page. The reality is that none of ESD Standards actually mentions that safe ESD environment shall have no ESD Events, or discharges. Typical ESD practices attempt to deal with ESD by "circumstantial evidence" - by checking the ingredients rather than verifying the end result.

The goal of a truly effective ESD program is to eliminate damaging ESD exposure to components during manufacturing, assembly and testing. Just as with other business venues, the most efficient approach to managing your ESD environment is by the results. In today’s production environment the traditional assumptive approach – buying wrist-straps, ionizers and alike – is simply not enough. Adequate ESD protection of sensitive requires more specialized expertise - now and in the future - than ever before.

ESD is not just a nuisance issue to dealt with and forgotten. What if your SMT pick-and-place machine board exposes ICs to dangerous levels of ESD? If out of 20 pick-and-place machines only three provide ESD exposure under 100V CDM, then your production capacity is only three, not 20 tools. As you can see, ESD suddenly becomes a production throughput issue, not a side issue be ignored.

BestESD, led by Vladimir Kraz, is backed by years of leading-edge experience in targeted ESD solutions and consulting around the world. Out of his 23 U.S. Patents, 15 are for advanced instrumentation for ESD diagnostics, such as EM Aware, ESD Pro, EM Eye, WS Aware, Ground Master, Ground Pro and other instruments and monitors currently available from SCS.

ESD Diagnostics and Mitigation

Every ESD problem always seems to be a “surprise.” It is never expected and almost always is treated as a nuisance. In fact, ESD problems are seldom true “surprises” and are not just a nuisance but rather a systemic issue in any electronics manufacturing. Brushing the problem away or just waiting it out are never good options. A thorough analysis of the problem and a fact-based assessment can not only point to the source of the current problem but also to help in understanding of overall ESD exposure to the components and assemblies in your process.

More than that, problems that cause customer relation problems require special efforts not only in correcting the problem but also in presenting professional analysis of the problem as well as of defensible action and verification plans.

We can offer the following

A thorough analysis of ESD exposure of your sensitive parts in the process
An identification of the most problematic areas for ESD exposure
A detailed report on the findings
Recommendations on specific improvements for those steps in the process that require it
Working with your customers and/or suppliers to present and to clarify the results of the findings and to explain the benefits of the proposed solutions

Equipment and Process Qualification

If you need to produce or handle devices that have ESD damage level of, say, 100V CDM, do you know which of your tools can be used to process them without exposing them to dangerous ESD levels? Would your IC handler provide discharges to your devices higher than their damage level? Is it possible that your wire bonder exposes your dies to unacceptable level of ESD exposure?

The equipment that processes your ESD-sensitive devices should not generate ESD exposure higher than the level at which the operation and reliability of your devices are compromised. In short, the level of ESD exposure that your equipment provides should not exceed a certain fraction of the damage level of your most sensitive component.

We offer ESD assessment of your tools and your processes, including detailed analysis of ESD exposure at each step of the process and in your tools; analysis every component of ESD safety: materials; grounding; ionization, and so on. You will receive a comprehensive report outlining actual levels of ESD/EOS/EMI exposure to ESD-sensitive devices for each tool.

We can work with your tool manufacturer on improvements in the ESD/EOS/EMI performance of their tools to bring item in compliance with your needs. We can also work with your customers on assessment of ESD exposure of their components in your equipment.

EMI Audit

Just like an ESD Audit, a comprehensive EMI audit of your facility with the emphasis on the most sensitive equipment and the worst EMI violators provides visibility of your actual EMI environment and helps to identify necessary improvements based on factual measurements.

We offer a fact-based EMI Audit with the primary focus on:

Identification of EMI exposure in your facility and in your process
Correlation between the sensitivity of our process and your devices and their exposure to EMI
EMI "map" of your facility
Identification of EMI "hot spots"
Analysis of grounding and power distribution from EMI point of view
Effectiveness of your EMI-protective measures
Understanding of key personnel of EMI, its consequences and mitigation
Proper EMI management in your facility

ESD Classes and Seminars

ESD is often considered to be something that would rather be "wished away" and hopefully forgotten. As such, not many specialists at the factories make the effort to understand the nature and the origins of ESD, ESD prevention and mitigation of ESD-related issues. The result is management of ESD by "disaster" - a sporadic and chaotic reaction to already-happened ESD problem where a lot of resources are spend, time is lost, the relationship with the customer is tested and, worst of all, nothing has been learned.

A solid education on properties of ESD and the methods of its control are essential for making ESD a manageable issue rather than an unpredictable disaster.

We offer a variety of classes and seminars on different aspects of ESD, EOS and EMI control based on your specific needs, not just a "generic" course. These classes can be conducted on-site for maximum efficiency and connection to your particular process and environment.

"Classic" ESD Event