Electrostatic Discharge Characteristics of Cable Discharge Event

The characteristics of cable electrostatic discharge event are investigated, which has been proved to be a hazard leading to ESD damage. The electrostatic voltage under operations on cable is measured and the effects of the discharge parameters including electrostatic voltage, cable length, cable type and the distance to the ground on cable discharge event (CDE) are studied experimentally. The CDE current waveform appears as a sequence of oscillating rectangular pulses with fast rising time, short pulse width but high amplitude. The current amplitude linearly increases with the electrostatic voltage, while the pulse width is mainly determined by the cable length. The distance to the ground and the cable type has little influence once the distance is relatively large. The discharge by cable with multiple cores is also investigated. Theoretical discussion is made to explain the phenomenon and its mechanism.