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Can a bare PCB board be damaged due to ESD Event? ESD Sensitive components inside conductive tote box were carried out by a person without grounding devices. Will this activity damaged the components? - Ravindran Jayaraman, Malaysia

A standard bare PCB (meaning that it has no semiconductor components installed) should not be susceptible to ESD damage. Stuff it with electronic (semiconductor) devices and it becomes susceptible according to each of the individuals susceptibility. It is not a good practice to have ungrounded operators carry conductive tote boxes with ESD sensitive devices within. Reasoning is as they walk and tribocharge up, so does the tote box and its contents. When the conductive tote box is set down on a grounded dissipative work surface, the charge is removed from all connected conductors. Conductors that are not directly connected (certain traces on the board and IC pins/sockets may remain charged. It is better to transport the conductive tote boxes on grounded carts or operators.

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