In fact, the military was shutting down some test equipment during site audits. ECT's engineering staff began an extensive research project to identify the causes of ESD in test fixtures and eliminate the source. What ensued was a materials solution to an electrical problem. The protection will not drift with time and works independently of humidity. The risk of a direct discharge from an accidentally charged UUT to the grounded test fixture also is eliminated.
Any charge is bled off at a controlled rate, preventing an electrical overstress.
It is interesting to note that now, shown the solution, many customers have confessed to knowing about the problems for some time. With little more than slightly effective stop-gap measures with which to combat the problem, many chose to keep quite about the ESD troubles labeled by more than one as horror stories. 1998-2001 Everett Charles Technologies. All rights reserved.