Selecting the right kind of ESD (electrostatic discharge) flooring is always a challenge, and in controlled environments, the stakes are particularly high.

While cleanroom environments are known for the exacting standards used to control contaminants, it’s ironic that their anti-static flooring doesn’t always meet industry specifications. This is a critical concern on several levels:

• First, the ESD problem is intensifying as electronic devices continue to become smaller and more powerful. Miniaturization, also known as device scaling, reduces the room for on-chip protection, increasing vulnerability to ESD and accenting the need for static-control, fault tolerant flooring.
• In addition, recent and proposed changes to ESD standards, including ANSI (American National Standards Institute), increases challenges to manufacturing facilities seeking ISO certification. These changes address the need to comply with revised static-prevention performance parameters, with failure to do so exposing companies to potential lost business due to non-compliance.
• Floors installed in cleanrooms have enormous bottom-line implications if you consider the potential costs of installing a new, correctly specified, floor after your facility is operational.

In other words, it is paramount to get your ESD flooring right the first time, and there should be no room for compromising within the precious real estate of cleanrooms. Yet, problems persist. Why?