Certification and Ongoing Monitoring Assures Customers of Manufacturing Operations’ ESD Control and Safety
ESCONDIDO, Calif. – April 11, 2024 – QP Technologies™, a leading provider of innovative microelectronic packaging and assembly solutions, today announced it has been certified ANSI/ESD S20.20-compliant by TÜV SÜD America Inc. – one of only six certification bodies accredited to issue ESD S20.20 certificates. Established and governed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the ESD S20.20-2021 standard provides requirements for establishing, implementing, and maintaining an electrostatic discharge (ESD) control program.
Defined by ANSI as “the rapid, spontaneous transfer of electrostatic charge induced by a high electrostatic field,” ESD has the potential to cause great damage to or even destroy electrical and electronic products, parts and materials. Implementing documented processes for monitoring and control of ESD is vital to ensuring product quality.
In January 2024, TÜV SÜD representatives performed an intensive audit of QP Technologies’ manufacturing facility in Escondido, California. The certifications team confirmed the ESD safety and compliance of QP Technologies’ IC packaging and microelectronic assembly line. The company’s quality engineers are trained to perform monthly monitoring and recordkeeping to maintain compliance. The resistivity of all surfaces that come in contact with parts, components and packages is measured, including furniture, table and floor mats, racks, shelves, carts, trays, and personal protective equipment (PPE) worn by packaging and assembly technicians, such as wrist straps, heel straps and ESD shoes. To be classed as ESD safe, a material’s surface resistance must not exceed 1x 10E11 Ω/square.
“Multiple customers, particularly larger companies, have increasingly requested that we become ESD certified. While we have taken steps to minimize ESD damage for many years, as a result of this latest audit, we have added and are regularly performing additional testing and monitoring processes to qualify all of the equipment and materials we use throughout our manufacturing line,” said QP Technologies Director of Quality Assurance Annette Aquino. “Having a formal ESD S20.20-certified facility with an ESD control program in place further assures customers of our role as a trusted partner.” The ESD S20.20 standard applies to organizations that manufacture or handle electrical and electronic parts and equipment susceptible to damage by ESD ≥100V human body model and 200V charged device model. ESD can occur due to human contact with an electrical part, or to static created through the part’s interaction with other materials. This latest certification comes on the heels of QP Technologies’ recent update of its ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 13485:2016 certifications through TÜV SÜD, exemplifying the company’s comprehensive commitment to quality and safety.