Fluoroelastomer Specialists
A new range of dissipative materials based on fluoroelastomer and perfluoroelastomer polymers is designed for wafer processing and wafer handling applications.
All industries are now focusing on creating increasingly innovative products at a greatly reduced cost, providing customers with new cost efficient solutions. As new technologies are being produced, there is a need for an improved supply chain, providing new materials, improving wafer throughputs and lowering defects – all resulting in reduced costs for manufacturers.
When dealing specifically with the electronics industry, there is a particular focus for all major manufacturers on electrostatic charge reduction and elimination of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Electro- static discharge is something we all experience on a regular basis – when walking across a carpeted floor and then touching a door handle, for example, or during a lightning storm. Although in everyday situations it is unlikely that any real lasting damage will be sustained, it is possible for electronic devices to be damaged by ESD events that are imperceptible to the human body. Even relatively low electrostatic voltages can have a huge impact on sensitive electrical devices, impacting yield, quality and reliability. It is suspected that ESD events occur hundreds of times a day. Although these are often not seen, they can have a significant impact on electrical equipment, resulting in a huge cost to manufacturers. In fact, it has been estimated that the cost of static associated damage ranges up to 33% for the electronic industry and between an average of 16 to 22% for component manufacturers [1] – a number which all would like to see dramatically reduced.
The principle of ESD
The initial creation of electrostatic charge requires energy to be transferred to a material which can occur when two materials repeatedly come into contact and separate. This is referred to as triboelectric charging. During this process a chemical bond is formed between the two surfaces as they come into contact, allowing charges to move from one material to the other to equalize their electrochemical potential. This creates a net charge imbalance between the objects. When separated, some of the bonded atoms keep extra electrons, while others give them away, though the imbalance will be partially destroyed by tunnelling or electrical breakdown (usually corona discharge). In addition, some materials may exchange ions of differing mobility, or exchange charged fragments of larger molecules.
When objects at different electrostatic potentials are brought together, the result is a rapid transfer of charge between the objects – the spark or ‘shock’ we commonly recognise as static electricity.
Read more: Eliminating electrostatic discharge: Protecting tomorrow’s technology
