Electrostatic testing of ESD-protective clothing for electronics industry

Current standard test methods do not adequately evaluate the performance of modem electrostatic discharge (ESD) protective garments used to protect ESD sensitive devices during handling in electronics industry. A new European research project ESTAT-Garments - aims to supply the standards body IEC TC101 with a means to assess the effectiveness of ESD garments and to develop appropriate test methods. This paper reviews the requirements for ESD garment test and presents results of measurements of charge transferred and peak ESD current in direct electrostatic discharges obtained from charged fabrics. Results obtained using triboelectrification and direct contact charging methods showed no significant differences. Fabrics could be placed in the following order of increasing charge and peak current corresponding to decreasing surface resistance: carbon core fibre, carbon surface conducting fibre and stainless steel conductive fibre.