Electrostatic Discharge(ESD) is the transfer of electrical charge between any two objects. A common example of this is the static shock that a person experiences after walking across a carpet and then touching a metallic object such as a door knob or file cabinet. The “shock” is felt at the point of contact and is typically accompanied by a small spark and a slight snapping sound. The process of creating an ESD event begins with the generation of static electricity. As one material (in this case the soles of a person’s shoes) comes into contact with another material (carpeted floor) which are then separated, an imbalance of electrical charge is created (figure 1.). The interaction of the soles of the shoes and the carpeted floor causes a build-up of electrons on the surface of the person, while the flooring becomes more positively charged as it gives up electrons. The static electricity continues to increase until a maximum level is reached or the person contacts another surface (in this case, a metal file cabinet) that is at a different electrical potential. The static electricity is then transferred from the person in an electrostatic discharge event (figure 2).