The economic downturn we have been experiencing these past couple of years has spread its tentacles far and wide, impacting a host of industries from consumer retail to technology. With the electronics sector struggling through its longest slump ever, businesses closely aligned with semiconductor fabrication, assembly, and test have been particularly hard hit. One example is the ESD industry. As gate counts climb well into the millions and more functionality is crammed into smaller packages, the need to protect new-generation ICs from ESD becomes extremely important. This should be good news for the ESD industry. Protecting static-sensitive devices during the IC production process requires all types of ESD-control products and related test equipment. However, this is not the case. With the semiconductor industry sitting in the doldrums, the need for companies to buy new ESD products and equipment is not a priority. Electronics manufacturers are postponing ESD-related purchases until their business improves.
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