Conductive materials for ESD applications: an overview

Polymer resins, because of their low cost, versatility, and ease of use, are the principal component in many static-control items. These items include containers and packages used to store and transport sensitive electronics. This paper seeks to explain how polymers are used for these demanding applications by providing a basic tutorial in polymer science as well as a brief description of the commercial polymers used in static-control products. This paper also contains a review of the various ways of imparting electrical conductivity on plastic resins through the use of antistatic agents, conductive fillers, and intrinsically conductive polymers.