An antistatic bag is a bag used for shipping (usually electronic

Electronics

Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...

) components, which are prone to damage caused by electrostatic discharge

Electrostatic discharge

Electrostatic discharge is a serious issue in solid state electronics, such as integrated circuits. Integrated circuits are made from semiconductor materials such as silicon and insulating materials such as silicon dioxide...

.

These bags are usually plastic (PET

Polyethylene terephthalate

Polyethylene terephthalate , commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is a thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in synthetic fibers; beverage, food and other liquid containers; thermoforming applications; and engineering resins often in combination...

) and have a distinctive color (silvery for Metallised film

Metallised film

Metallised films are polymer films coated with a thin layer of metal, usually aluminium. They offer the glossy metallic appearance of an aluminium foil at a reduced weight and cost...

, pink or black for polyethylene

Polyethylene

Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...

). The polyethylene variant may also take the form of foam or bubble wrap

Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap is a pliable transparent plastic material commonly used for packing fragile items. Regularly spaced, protruding air-filled hemispheres provide cushioning for fragile items....

, either as sheets or bags. Because of the need for protection against mechanical damage as well as electrostatic damage, layers of protection are often used; because of this, you might find:

• The protected device packaged inside a metalized PET film bag
• Packed inside a pink polyethylene bubble-wrap bag
• Packed inside a rigid black polyethylene box lined with pink poly foam

To create the anti-static effect, the black or silver bags are slightly conductive, forming a Faraday cage

Faraday cage

A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure formed by conducting material or by a mesh of such material. Such an enclosure blocks out external static and non-static electric fields...

 around the item to be protected and preventing any localized charges from being deposited onto the protected devices as the bags are handled. The pink or green bags are made of low-charging material, i.e. the bag itself will not create harmful charges, but will not protect the item from electric fields. It is important that the bags only be opened at static-free workstations.

See also

• Antistatic device
  Antistatic device
  An antistatic device is any item which has the effect of reducing static electricity charges on a person's body or equipment, either to prevent fires and explosions when working with flammable liquids and gases, or to prevent damage to static-sensitive objects such as electronic components or devices...
  
  
  • Antistatic garments
    Antistatic garments
    Anti-static garments or anti-static clothing is required to prevent damage to electrical components or to prevent fires and explosions when working with flammable liquids and gases.- Electrostatic sensitive device :...
    
    
  • Antistatic agent
    Antistatic agent
    An antistatic agent is a compound used for treatment of materials or their surfaces in order to reduce or eliminate buildup of static electricity generally caused by the triboelectric effect. Its role is to make the surface or the material itself slightly conductive, either by being conductive...
    
    
  • Antistatic mat
    Antistatic mat
    An antistatic floor mat or ground mat is one of a number of antistatic devices designed to help eliminate static electricity. It does this by having a conductive material embedded within the mat that collects the static. The mat would need to be grounded . This is usually accomplished by plugging...
    
    
  • Antistatic wrist strap
    Antistatic wrist strap
    An antistatic wrist strap, ESD wrist strap, or ground bracelet is an antistatic device used to safely ground a person working on very sensitive electronic equipment, to prevent the buildup of static electricity on their body, which can result in electrostatic discharge...
    
    
• Electrostatic sensitive device
  Electrostatic sensitive device
  An electrostatic-sensitive device is any component which can be damaged by common static charges which build up on people, tools, and other non-conductors or semiconductors...
  
  
• Velostat
  Velostat
  Velostat is a packaging material impregnated with carbon black to make it electrically conductive. It is used for the protection of items or devices that are prone to damage from electrostatic discharge. It was developed by Custom Materials, now part of 3M....
  
  

General references

• Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

External links

• ESD bag types and standards
• What type of bag should you use?
• Antistatic bags and Conductive bags