原创 A Refreshed Review of Electrostatics, electrostatic charge and ESD

You may need to renew your industrial understandings about the relations and differences between the technical glossaries of electrostatics, electrostatic charge and ESD.

Definitions Review

Electrostatics: Electrostatics is the study of electric charges at rest. (referred to IEEE digital library)

Electrostatic charge: also called as static electricity. it refers to electric charge at rest. (referred to glossary document of ESD ADV1.0)

ESD: Electro-Static Discharge, it refers to the rapid, spontaneous transfer of electrostatic charge induced by a high electrostatic field. (Note: Usually, the charge flows through a spark between two bodies at different electrostatic potentials
as they approach one another). (referred to glossary document of ESD ADV1.0)
Relations and Differences

Based on the above definitions, electrostatics is the broadest term to cover all aspects related with electric charges. And the plasma processes in microelectronics manufacturing industries could be also included. 

The industrial problems induced by electrostatics usually are caused by the movements of electric charges by the influence of the high electric fields.

Regarding the term of ESD, it is just one branch in electrostatics which is one kind of particular case of rapid transfers of electric charges by high electric fields.

The Broad sense of the industrial Problems of electrostatics in microelectronics manufacturing industries

 To the broad sense to look into nowadays microelectronics manufacturing industries, the industrial problems caused by electrostatics could involve ESA, ESD, EFM and PID.

The problem of ESA (Electro-Static Attraction) group usually includes particle contaminations, process deviations by the effects of ESA.

The problem of ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) group usually refers to the microelectronic device failure caused by ESD events.

The problem of EFM (Electric Field induced ions migration) group usually occur in the field sensitive microelectronics devices while the ions migrate within devices under the influence of the high electric fields. EFM usually induce problems of CD (Critical Dimensions) failures or electrical leakage of microelectronics.

The problem of PID (Plasma process Induced Damage) group usually refers to the insulating dielectrics (such as gate oxide layer, interlayer) failures caused by plasma effects.