If you’ve ever walked across a carpet and then touched a metal doorknob, you’re likely familiar with the concept of electrostatic discharge, or ESD. While these small shocks might be nothing more than an annoyance for people, ESD can have a serious impact on electrical devices.

In some cases, electrostatic discharge can severely damage the delicate components inside a device, preventing it from functioning properly. 

ESD testing involves simulating electrostatic discharge and assessing how a device performs and reacts. It’s an important step in achieving regulatory compliance for electrical devices and often needs to be performed in order to gain market access to the United States or EU.

As an accredited electronics testing lab, we can complete ESD testing for your device, as well as services such as FCC testing and CE testing. Contact us online or call us at 866-540-5287 for a free quote for your device, or to talk to our engineering and compliance team.

You can also learn more about ESD testing, including what electrostatic discharge is, how we test a device’s ESD immunity, and the importance of ESD testing, below.  

What is ESD?

Electrostatic discharge is a common issue that occurs when a sudden flow of electricity moves between two different electrically charged objects. It can happen because of direct contact, due to an electrical short, or as a result of dielectric breakdown.

You’ve likely encountered electrostatic discharge in daily life. For example, as mentioned above, when you walk across a carpeted floor, your body can build up static electricity due to friction. If you touch a conductive object, this electricity dissipates, causing a shock.

Electrostatic discharge can vary in severity. When a significant amount of static electricity builds up, it can create a spark that may affect an electronic device’s ability to function normally.

Dangers and Risks of Electrostatic Discharge

While a small electric shock from a carpet, clothes dryer or other household item is rarely more than an annoyance for you as a person, even a mild amount of electrostatic discharge can have a harmful effect on many electrical devices. 

Electrostatic discharge may damage the internal components in electronic devices. Even small amounts of ESD can render certain components non-functional, resulting in the failure of home, commercial and industrial electrical devices, appliances and equipment.

In certain cases, damage caused by ESD can lead to safety issues, such as in medical devices or equipment used in safety or security. 

As a device manufacturer, failing to ensure that your device can tolerate electrostatic discharge can have significant costs. It can result in costly repairs and product returns for damaged and/or non-functional devices and equipment.

Additionally, equipment that’s vulnerable to ESD can affect your brand image and reputation, as it may fail to provide the reliability your customers require and expect.

ESD Testing Standards and Regulations

A range of standards concern electrostatic discharge, including standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). 

The most common ESD standard is IEC 61000-4-2, as well as its harmonized European Norm (EN) standard EN 61000-4-2. IEC/EN 61000-4-2 specifies testing conditions and performance standards for electronic devices in order to ensure they offer adequate ESD protection.

Meeting IEC/EN 61000-4-2 performance standards is often a key step in achieving compliance with regional standards, including some European electrical directives. 

Not sure if your device needs ESD testing and compliance? Contact us to talk to our engineers and compliance experts and determine the right lab tests for your device and target markets.

How Does ESD Testing Work?

Completing ESD testing is an important step in verifying that your product can withstand normal levels of electrostatic discharge. Testing typically involves the following steps:

Set up the device for testing. Your device is set up in our testing environment. Using a device called an ESD simulator, or ESD gun, the test is configured to deliver electrostatic discharge pulses to your device.

Apply controlled ESD events to the device. Your electronic device, the device under testing (DUT), is subject to controlled electrostatic discharge according to the standard used for testing.

Monitor your device’s performance. During testing, your device’s ability to withstand ESD events is monitored and the results of testing are analyzed. Signs of damage and malfunctioning are checked for by our engineers.

Identify failure points. Devices often fail ESD testing due to inadequate shielding, the use of components with low ESD withstand voltage, or issues related to your choice of materials or device design. Our team will identify these failure points. 

In the event that your device fails ESD testing, our team of engineers and compliance experts can recommend specific, actionable changes that you can make to improve ESD performance and achieve better testing results in the future.

Contact Us About ESD & Other Electronics Testing

As an accredited electronics testing laboratory, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses achieve compliance with FCC, CE, IEC and other standards for their devices. 

Our experienced team can test your device and help you achieve compliance with all relevant standards, including IEC 61000-4-2. We also offer a complete range of testing and compliance services for FCC and CE compliance, allowing your US and European market access.

To request a free quote for your project, or to ask our engineers and compliance specialists a question about the testing process, contact us online or call us at 866-540-5287.