Low Voltage Insulation Resistance Measurement of Printed Circuits and its Implications

The use of surface insulation resistance testing has been restricted to QC laboratory applications. The extension of this technique to modern electronics and, in particular, to contamination control of SMAs has forced the development of new methods of SIR measurement. These have revealed that existing standards are rapidly becoming obsolete because the premises on which they are founded are no longer valid. Even more alarming, it is revealed that we are rapidly reaching, not only the limit of our knowledge in the field, but also the technical limits of existing standard materials used in industry today. This paper is a warning against too much complacency, as the risk of running into real problems, at all process stages, will become very pertinent within a few years. The technical content of this paper is based on about three years' study of the subject resulting in the measurement of SIR at about 10 V, as opposed to the traditional values of 100 and 500 V, which have been proved to be of little value with conductor spacings such as are usual on SMAs.