Friday, November 09, 2007

Is it necessary to wear ESD foot straps on both feet?

Is it necessary to wear ESD foot straps on both feet? Where is this defined in the standards?

Most standards do not explicitly tell you to wear foot straps on both feet. However in order to control the body voltage reliably and prevent ESD risk, the body must be continuously grounded and the resistance from the body to ground must not be greater than 35 Mohm.

If you wear only one footstrap, your body is not grounded when that strap loses contact with the floor and the body voltage can quickly rise to hundreds of volts, giving ESD risk. So, it is not good practice to wear only one footstrap.