<electrostatic-discharge>
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is based upon the charge of two insulating materials by friction. If the charged object comes near to a conducting object, the potential discharges by a spark that goes over to that conductor. The very fast compensating currents and the electromagnetic fields which are generated by this, are able to permanently damage electronic components.
The "human-body model" is used for testing the ESD strength of electronic components. It simulates the discharge of a human being with the capacitance C via his skin with the resistance R. For the area of vehicle electronics, the standard [ISO/CD 10605;ISO/CD 10605;;all;] can be applied. ESD requirements can be defined with the following specifications:
Test plan, Test set-up, Operating states, fault criteria, fault description, laboratory tests, and inside or outside the vehicle.
Figure 55: Structure of ESD