Damage to Electronic Components on PCBs When Touched by Workers
When a PCB is sprayed with PCB cleaning spray and then lifted by a worker (wearing a wrist strap for grounding), the IC components mounted on the PCB are damaged by the discharge between the worker and PCB.
The discharge is caused by the electrostatic charge on the PCB generated by the spray.
Conventional countermeasures
Grounding
- It is not effective for nonconductors.
- A connection to ground is required.
Using conductive materials
- The components themselves cannot be changed.
Countermeasures with static eliminators (ionizers)
An ionizer enhances the effect of measures against static electricity in cell processes and improves the yield rate.
Improvements and Effects
Words from the worksite
Improved manufacturing yield rate
Measures against static electricity are taken in multiple ways, such as installing static eliminators, employee training, and thorough grounding. It is difficult to calculate the effect of just the static eliminator, but the yield rate has certainly improved.
There are other invisible effects such as improved levels of trust in the manufacturing quality.
