MayJune 2001

News and views for members of the ESD Association News bits THRESHOLD TM HRESHOLD Volume 17, No. 3 May/June 2001 Symposium............................. 1 From the Threshold chair ....... 2 Symposium schedule ............. 3 S20.20 certification ................ 3 Professional certification ........ 4 Calendar of events ................. 5 From the president ................. 5 The ladder, part 2 ................... 6 Voltage of insulators? ............. 8 NE chapter resurgence ......... 10 In this issue Charity golf tournament The ESD Association’s first ever, char- ity golf tournament will be held Septem- ber 8 at Langdon Farms Golf Club, Au- rora, Oregon. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland and the Portland Ronald McDonald Houses. Contact ESD Association headquarters or visit the ESDAWeb site (www.esda.org ) for additional information. DebbieWeggeland named exhibitor liaison Debbie Weggeland has been appointed to the Association board of directors as exhibitor liaison. She will represent the exhibitor community to the 2001 Sym- posium steering committee and the ESDA board of directors and will work closely with Scien-Tech Associates. Debbie had previously served in the position until the opening of a new business required her to take a short hiatus. 2001 Symposium Something for everyone When the curtain rises on the 23 rd an- nual EOS/ESD Symposium, attendees will find a program featuring “something for everyone.” This year’s event is being held September 9-13 at the Oregon Conven- tion Center, Portland, Oregon. Once again programmed in four tech- nical tracks, Design and Device Technology, Factory andMaterials, SystemLevel ESD, and Magnetic Recording , attendees will be able to customize and concentrate their Sym- posium experience along their specific areas of interest. Technical sessions A record 64 papers will be offered in parallel sessions: Novel CMOS Devices, Design – Process and Device Technology, RF ESD Design and Technology, Transmission Line Pulsing and Standardization, Simula- tion and Modeling, Materials I and Materi- als II, Factory Issues, Magnetic Recording Heads I and Magnetic Recording Heads II, and Systems Issues . Workshops Eight interactive workshops will cover On-Chip Protection, How and Why TLP Is Used, How TLP Aids ESD Protection Design- ers, ESD Control Program – Audit Problems, ESD in Cleanrooms, Grounding of People, Worksurfaces, and Walking Surfaces, ESD in Magnetic Recording, and System Level ESD Considerations. Tutorials The week’s events officially open Sun- day, September 9 with four full-day ESD tutorials: ESD Basics, ESD On-Chip Protec- tion in Advanced Technologies, Understand- ing ESD in Magnetic Recording, and System Level ESD/EMI Design and Troubleshooting. An additional 18 tutorials will be offered on Monday and Tuesday. Organized in four educational tracks: Factory, Protection Design, Magnetic Recording and Failure Analysis, and Systems and Technology , the tutorials focus on a wide range of EOS and ESD topics. Exhibits and other events Attendees also will have the opportu- nity to visit the exhibits of more than 100 companies that provide ESD control prod- ucts and services. The exhibits are open to anyone interested in EOS and ESD. Other events include authors’ corners that provide opportunities to discuss the technical papers with the authors, recep- tions, keynote presentation, and the ESDA annual meeting and recognition lun- cheon. The ESDC certification exams are be- ing offered on Friday, September 14. Spe- cial tutorials through the week will help applicants prepare for the examinations. The detailed programwill be mailed in mid-May. It also is available on the Association’s web site, www.esda.org . The Symposium is sponsored by the ESD Association in cooperation with the IEEE. It is technically co-sponsored by the Electron Devices Society. The general chair is Mark A. Kelly, Delphi Delco Elec- tronics Systems. The vice general chair is Steven H. Voldman, IBM Microelectron- ics. The technical program chair is Joseph Bernier, Intersil Corporation. More Symposium Charity golf .............. 1 Schedule ................. 3 Certification ............. 4 From the president .. 5 Visit the ESDA web site at www.esda.org