Experiment Overview

A variety of “ESD-safe” floor materials are now commercially available to minimize the magnitude of the charge generated while walking across flooring.  Twenty different types of ESD0-safe flooring materials were included as part of this study.

The flooring test site was located in a production area where integrated circuits (IC’s) are routinely handled.  Each manufacturer was given 150 square feet of floor space per material type.  If the floor was not properly prepared and installed, even the best flooring would have failed to perform as expected.  In order to avoid this, each of the floors was installed by the manufacturer or a manufacturer’s representative.  The study began in January 1993 with it’s conclusion in January 1995.  During this period, important factors were considered such as the test methodology and it’s relevance to real-life applications, traffic patterns, and relative humidity which ranged from 25% during the winter months, to a high of 68% in the summer.

Next: Experimental Apparatus & Procedures

Introduction | Experiment Overview | Procedures | Results | Economics | Summary | Conclusion | Credits