Brian, There are a number of overlays you can use that will provide the protection. Polycarbonate is very popular, although polyester has a higher dielectric rating around 125KV/mm. In my own experience I found about 12-18KV of protection from a 10 mil sheet of polyester. Polycarbonate can be sightly less. This can vary due to embossing and other operations done to the membrane that tends to thin the materiel. You should have no problem meeting the 8KV with a 10 mil layer of either polyester or polycarbonate. GE Plastics, Bayer Films, and ICI Films all sell many different varieties of these films, and some have added properties for chemical resistance, UV, etc. Be careful to watch flame ratings if you need them for safety, as these may vary widely. I have seen most ESD problems with membranes to be at the edges where you need a significant amount of clearance to your circuitry.
Darrell Locke Advanced Input Devices ---------- From: Brian Harlowe To: [email protected] Subject: Flexible ESD proof membrane List-Post: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, October 15, 1997 7:13AM Hi everyone Does anybody know of a transparent flexible membrane that I can fit to a control panel which will stand the ESD tests of 8kV air discharge and 4kV contact. This is for the control panel of an electron microscope where it gets moderate usage. Brian Harlowe V.G. Scientific * opinions expressed here are personal and in no way reflect the position of VG Scientific
