Skip to Content
800-404-2832

No results found
Alt text
Standard Overview Products Used in Testing Related Compliance Standards

Standard Overview

Preview Standard   Buy Standard

IEC 61000-4-2 is an international test standard that outlines electromagnetic immunity requirements for electronic equipment when exposed to electrostatic discharge (ESD) generated from a human body or metal objects. The standard assumes that the source is an electrified human body discharge and testing simulates the current waveform generated in those conditions.
Level Test Voltage (Contact Discharge) Test Voltage (Air Discharge)
1 2 kV 2 kV
2 4 kV 4 kV
3 6 kV 8 kV
4 8 kV 15 kV
 
 

Recommended Bundle

For All 30 kV Regulated Applications:
Haefely ONYX 30

 + 

 Brandenburg 149-01

 + 

 LeCroy WavePro 960

 = 

 Recommended Bundle
Haefely ONYX 30 KV
ESD Simulator		   Brandenburg 149-01
High Voltage Meter		   LeCroy WavePro 960
Digital Oscilloscope		   ESD Simulator Testing System

Rent Bundle

 

Discharge Current Waveform

The ESD discharge simulator (ESD Gun) must meet the following specifications:
  • Energy Accumulation Capacity: 150 pF (typical)
  • Discharge Resistance: 330 Ω (typical)
  • Charging Resistance: 50 MΩ - 100 MΩ
  • Output Voltage: 8 kV for contact discharge, 15 kV for air discharge
  • Tolerance: ±5%
  • Polarity: Positive and Negative
  • Hold Time: >= 5 Sec.
61000-4-2 Chart
 

Testing Your ESD Gun

The following characteristics in the table below must be verified to ensure proper test results:
 
Level Indicated Voltage 1st peak Current of discharge (±15%) Rise Time (±25%) Current at 30ns (±30%) Current at 60ns (±30%)
1 2 kV 7.5 A 0.8 ns 4A 2A
2 4 kV 15 A 0.8 ns 8A 4A
3 6 kV 22.5 A 0.8 ns 12A 6A
4 8 kV 30 A 0.8 ns 16A 8A

ATEC is the largest rental company that is ISO 17025 accredited to calibrate ESD discharge guns. Testing and verifying the output of an ESD gun is an important first step in the test process due to the slew rate, peak bandwidth, peak energy, and unintended capacitive and inductive coupling (in addition to proper grounding).

To check an ESD simulator's output, you must measure the waveform of the resulting current across a low-impedance, high-frequency resistive shunt connected to the ground. The target mounts in the center of a 1.2-m2 ground plane and must have VSWR of less than 1.22 and an insertion loss of less than 0.3 dB up to 4 GHz.

Figure 1Figure 2

IEC 61000-4-2 also specifies that you place the measurement oscilloscope inside a Faraday cage to shield it from the radiated ESD pulse. You will also need good-quality low-loss cables between the target, attenuators, and the oscilloscope. To comply with the IEC standards you should keep the total cable length less than 1 m, and a double-shielded cable that prevents signal leakage from affecting your measurement is strongly recommended.
 

EUT Test Setup

The direct discharge test simulates the human body model of electrostatic discharge and must be set up to recreate similar conditions. It is important to make sure that you have the proper grounding system in place before you begin testing. When using a tabletop for testing, you want to have a horizontal coupling plane on top of the table but below an insulation sheet. This should be connected to a ground reference plane on the floor using a 2 x 470kΩ bleed resistor cable as shown:

Figure 3

If the EUT is too large for a tabletop, place the EUT on an insulation pallet that is at least 0.1m in height. For the indirect contact discharge part of the test, a vertical coupling plane should be set up 10cm from the EUT, and also connected to the ground reference plane using the bleed resistors. Once set up, a power supply should be connected to the EUT and ESD gun. It is important to make sure that the room where the test is conducted is at a temperature of 15°C to 35°C and relative humidity is between 30% and 60%.

The test procedure is rather simple. For direct discharge, place the ESD gun to the point of test on the EUT, and discharge at 1-second intervals. This should be performed at least 10 times at both positive and negative polarities, and results recorded. For an indirect discharge test, the same process is repeated except that the discharge goes to the vertical or horizontal coupling plane, rather than directly to the EUT. Multiple discharge points may be required for testing, depending on the EUT.

The results are classified in 4 ways:
 
  • Normal operation within the tolerance of specification
  • Temporary degradation or loss in operation or function, which is able to be recovered by self-recovery function
  • Temporary degradation or loss in operation or function, which needs to be recovered by user intervention or system reset.
  • Damage of the system or software, and unrecoverable degradation and loss of function or data.
More On ESD Testing  

ATEC offers a variety of ESD guns from Teseq, Keytek, Haefely, and others. There are many other ESD test standards that we support. To meet these standards, ATEC has a large variety of discharge modules needed to cover your various testing needs.
 
Standard Discharge Module
IEC 61000-4-2 150pF/330 Ohm
ISO 10605 150pF/2000 Ohm
330pF/2000 Ohm
330pF/330 Ohm
SAEJ1113 150pF/2000 Ohm
330pF/2000 Ohm
ANSI C63.16 150pF/330 Ohm
150pF/15 Ohm
150pF/75 Ohm
MIL-STD-464 500pF/500 Ohm
MIL-STD-883 100pF/1500 Ohm
JASO D001-87 150pF/500 Ohm
Chrysler PF9326/LP388 100pF/500 Ohm

Contact ATEC today and our rental agents will guide you to the ideal equipment to complete your test.

Learn More About EMC Testing  

Related IEC Standards

Explore All Standards
IEC 62233: Electromagnetic Fields of Household Appliances and Similar Apparatus with Regard to Human
IEC 62233 describes measurement methods for determining electric field strength and magnetic flux density for household and other electrical appliances. The standard covers electromagnetic fields from 0 to 300 GHz.  Along with test methods, IEC 62233 describes ideal testing conditions as well as recommended measuring distances and positioning. Methods specified in this standard are valid over a frequency range of 10 Hz to 400 kHz; frequencies below 10 Hz and above 400 kHz are regarded as complaint without testing, unless called out in IEC 60335.   IEC 62233:2005 is the latest version of the standard.     Applies To: Household Electrical Appliances Electric Tools Electric Toys Does Not Apply To: Heavy Industrial Apparatus Vehicle-Specific Apparatus Cables, Fuses, Switches, Circuit Breakers Medical Appliances Personal Computers TV, Radio, Audio, Video Equipment Electronic Musical Instruments Radio Transmitters Differences Between IEC and EN Versions EN 62233 is the European standard for household appliances and is nearly identical to IEC 62233. The few differences between the two standards can be found in the exposure limit values listed in Annex B of both standards. EN 62233 limit values are identical to ICNIRP limit values, whereas its IEC counterpart offers both IEEE and ICNIRP values.   Choosing a Test Method When testing to IEC 62233, choosing the correct test method is essential to ensure your setup is right for the appliance being tested. Your device may require a time domain evaluation, a line spectrum evaluation or alternative test methods depending on its specifications. The following diagram will help you to choose how you test:   Time Domain Evaluation Regardless of the signal type, testers can perform time domain measurements of the value of the magnetic flux density. A transfer function "a" can be implemented to take into account the dependency on the frequency
IEC 60050-444 International Electrotechnical Vocabulary Part 444: Elementary Relays
In the past, IEC 60050-446 (Part 446 of the IEV) listed the terminology for all types of electrical relays. In order to improve the precision of terms and definitions as well as the general visibility of relay terminology, it had been decided to split that part of the IEV into three separate parts optimised for the specific relay types covered.   Therefore, this part of IEC 60050 gives terms and definitions for elementary relays (nonspecified time all-or-nothing relays) superseding the terminology of IEC 60050-446 for such relays. The terminology for time relays is contained in IEC 60050-445 established in parallel with this part. A new part for measuring relays and protection equipment (IEC 60050-447) is also under preparation. When all these three parts are published, IEC 60050-446 shall be withdrawn from the IEV.   IEC 60050-444 Specifications:   The first edition of IEC 60050-444 was published in 1973. It includes physical and electrical specifications for a PI that approximates the purely resistive equivalent circuit of Figure 1 (the capacitance Cp is ignored). The construction technique described uses disk and rod type resistors. Two trimmers per Figure 2 are recommended for adjusting the phase response that is introduced by the network (which is largest when the network is short circuited) to be flat within +/-0.5 degrees over a frequency range of 1 to 125MHz. The PI is used to measure Zero-Phase frequency and resistance of crystals.   The second edition of IEC 60050-444 was split into several parts, each referring to different aspects of crystal measurement. Only Part 1 addresses the electrical specifications of the PI, while the remaining parts cover application and adaptation of the PI to various crystal measurements (see Reference 1). Part 1 of the second edition was published in 1980. One major difference compared to the original specifications is an extended frequency range to 200 MHz. The rod and disk construction and the
IEC 60255: Electrical Relays
IEC 60255 specifies common requirements and rules applicable to measuring relays and protection equipment. This includes any combination of devices to form schemes for power system protection such as control, monitoring and process interface equipment in order to obtain uniformity of requirements and tests. The IEC 60255 specifies measuring relays and protection equipment used for protection within the power system environment covered by this standard. Other standards in this series may define their own requirements which in such cases shall take precedence. For special applications (marine, aerospace, explosive atmospheres, computers, etc.), the general requirements within this standard may need to be enhanced by additional special requirements. The requirements are applicable only to relays in new condition. All tests in this standard are considered type tests, unless otherwise declared. The object of IEC 60255 is to specify limits and test methods, for measuring relays and protection equipment, taking into account cominbations of devices to form schemes for power system protection including the control, monitoring, communication, and process interface equipment within those systems. This standard specifies the requirements for electromagnetic compatibility for measuring relays and protection equiment. The requirements are applicable to measuring relays and protection equipment in a new condition and all tests specified are type tests only. This IRC 60255 standard is retrieved from IEC 10-31-2013. 
IEC 60270: Partial Discharge Measurements
IEC 60270 – partial discharge measurements (previously high voltage test techniques) – is applicable to the measurement of partial discharge which occurs in electrical apparatus, systems, and components when tested with DC voltage or AC voltage up to 400 Hz. Related Standards: IEC 60060-1, High-voltage test techniques – Part 1: General definitions and test requirements IEC 60060-2, High-voltage test techniques – Part 2: Measuring Systems CISPR 16-1:1993, Specification for radio disturbance and immunity measuring apparatus and methods – Part 1: Radio disturbance and immunity measuring apparatus Introduction to Partial Discharge Testing Partial discharge is a major factor in insulation failure and the failure of electrical equipment like power transformers, HV cables, switchgear, motors and generators. PD measurement allowsoperators to perform effective and reliable insulation testing of these high voltage devices in applications like factory acceptance testing, on-site commissioning and routine electrical maintenance. PD analysis techniques must adhere to IEC 60270, the international standard for the measurement of electrical discharges in insulation. Partial discharge testing, or PD testing, detects the presence of partial discharges in high voltage equipment. A partial discharge (PD) is a small spark within electrical insulation caused by insulation breakdown. PDs occur when an electrical insulation system experiences HV stress; a dielectric breakdown of a small portion of the insulation generates electrical discharges, which bridge the gap between two conducting electrodes. These dielectric breakdowns manifest across the surface of insulation material, in pockets found in solid insulation, within gas bubbles in liquid forms of insulation and proximal to electrodes in gases. As aging HV equipment continues to operate at high levels all around us, PD testing is more critical than ever to diagnose insulation