Leica ESD User Manual

Protection against electrostatig discharge (ESD)

Today's high-density electronic
components, with their low
current consumption, are very
susceptible to electrostatic
effects, and during the
manufacturing process, can be
damaged by current peaks
resulting from electrostatic
discharge. They must therefore
be manipulated only in an
electrostatically- acceptable
environment.

In order to effectively prevent
such damage, electronics
workplaces will in the future be
subjected to more stringent
regulations with regard to
electrostatic conditions.
Obtaining best protection
against electrostatic discharge
is becoming very important in
the manufacture and
processing of electronic
components, because
manufacturers are being forced
to take action to counteract the
escalating costs which result
from damaged components.

- Surface resistance < 10 11
ohm/square

- Time to reduce charge from
1000V to 100V < 2 seconds

*Patented in US, patent applied
in other countries.

A person who is in an electromagnetic
field and who carries a static charge

Electrostatic charging and discharging

Almost any object or material can accumulate an electrostatic
charge. The size of this charge, and the speed and manner in
which it is conducted and discharged, depend on the electrical
characteristics of the material involved. Particularly important
characteristics of these various materials are the surface
resistance and the discharge time.

- The surface resistance is expressed in ohm/square and is
a measure of the resistance between the opposing edges
of a square.

- The discharge time is the time required to reduce an
electrostatic charge to a defined percentage (generally
10%) of its original value.

LEICA MS5, MZ6, MZ75, MZ95, MZ125 now available as
ESD version

This product improvement meets the increasing demand from
the electronics and semiconductor industries for
stereomicroscopes which do not accumulate an electrostatic
charge. The modified polymer to be used in future for the
LEICA MS5, MZ6; MZ75, MZ95 and MZ125
stereomicroscopes*, like those of the GZ4 and GZ6, has the
following properties:

High voltages can be
transmitted from the operator to
the component if the operator
carries an electrostatic charge
and approaches or touches the
component, or if the component
comes close to an instrument
(such as a stereomicroscope)
which is itself electrostatically
charged.

The 4mm diam. connecting sockets are for attaching the ground (earthing)
cables, enabling a conductive link between microscope carrier and incident ­light base to be established if required.