Packaging Films for Electronic and Space-Related Hardware

Flexible packaging films are used to bag and/or wrap precision cleaned electronic or space hardware to protect them from environmental degradation during shipping and storage. Selection of packaging films depends on a knowledge of product requirements and packaging film characteristics. The literature presently available on protective packaging films has been updated to include new materials and to amplify space-related applications. Presently available packaging film materials are compared for their various characteristics: electrostatic discharge (ESD) control, flame retardancy, water vapor transmission rate, particulate shedding, molecular contamination, and transparency. The tradeoff between product requirements and the characteristics of the packaging films available are discussed. Selection considerations are given for the application of specific materials of space hardware-related applications. Applications for intimate, environmental, and electrostatic protective packaging are discussed.