Title :
Methodology to study the resistance of spark discharges
Author :
Greason, William D.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Univ. of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Canada
Abstract :
Spark discharges are normally associated with real event electrostatic discharges (ESD). The electrical characteristics of the spark channel can influence the nature of the discharge current which can cause both direct and indirect damage in semiconductor devices and electronic systems. In this work, a method is described to determine the resistance of spark discharges. Discharge currents are measured for underdamped and forced overdamped cases; an analysis of the resulting waveforms is used to calculate the effective resistance of the discharge. The technique is applied to measure the resistance of a spark discharge between two spherical electrodes
Keywords :
electric current measurement; electric resistance measurement; electrodes; electrostatic discharge; sparks; current measurements; discharge current; effective resistance calculation; electrical characteristics; electronic system damage; electrostatic discharges; spark channel; spark discharge resistance; spherical electrodes; Current measurement; Electric resistance; Electric variables; Electrical resistance measurement; Electrodes; Electrostatic discharge; Electrostatic measurements; Force measurement; Semiconductor devices; Sparks;
Conference_Titel :
Industry Applications Conference, 1997. Thirty-Second IAS Annual Meeting, IAS '97., Conference Record of the 1997 IEEE
Conference_Location :
New Orleans, LA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4067-1
DOI :
10.1109/IAS.1997.626316
