Why was the PESTO℠ service created?

The electronic design community needs a common, simplified interface to model the complex ESD/EOS interactions of devices from a wide variety of suppliers.

The ESD Industry Council and the ESD/EOS Association Symposia have encouraged the development of ESD protection analysis beyond simple datasheet comparisons. These whitepapers and standards working groups continue to pursue the free and open interchange of simulation and modeling methodologies for interchange between semiconductor suppliers and system designers.

Beyond the collegial academic achievements, there are certain industrial and economic realities of competition and destructive innovation which are often in opposition to the free flow of information and technology.

There exists a natural competition among the suppliers and developers and even consumers which is beneficial to the industry and consumers in general, improving quality and performance while minimizing costs and price. Unfortunately, for this greater benefit, some lower performers must give way to the superior product, supplier or competitor. Thus every participant is understandably reticent to distribute material which detracts from their primary strategic message. In fact, in some cases it may be directly countrary to a corporation's fiduciary responsibility to their employees and shareholders to give away proprietary information.

This is not to say that companies are intentionally misleading or misinforming their customers at all. If two products are are sufficient for an application and equally priced with equal availability, why should one of those competitors volunteer information showing the competing product to be a few percent better on average, especially when the test conditions may vary 15-30%? Not only is it not reasonable to expect, such disclosures may eliminate the motivation of companies to offer second sources and "me too" products which are critical in providing price pressure and supplier diversity to the manufacturer where sole-sourced products are undesirable.

What is best for the evolution of an industry is not always good for a particular company. And when a particular company succeeds, it may actually hurt innovation. On the other hand, a failed company can sometimes open up opportunities for innovation and development in an industry. For this type of evolution to occur, there must be a level playing field for both large and small IP gene pools.

Why is PESTO℠ proprietary?

Because in any competitive sport, the teams cannot provide their own rules and referee. It just won't work.

PESTO℠ applies the same testing and modeling methodology to all devices. Without an independent arbiter, suppliers may only provide models for devices that support their strategic interests. Just as a company should not be expected to take out an advertisement for a competitor, it is unreasonable to expect a company to provide models which may highlight their competitive disadvantages. High volume system developers may be able to demand all such information under NDA for their own benefit, and suppliers may choose to provide it for a chance to catch the big fish. But smaller distribution customers have no such leverage and are left with more uncertainty, and must depend on their own resources, or the assurances of simpler datasheets.

Why is PESTO℠ only available online?

Advanced PESTO℠ simulations and regressions are available offline for specific tasks as well. Also making the tool available online (and as a smartphone app, etc) means that it can be used dynamically in design reviews, at sales meetings, in training sessions, or any time it is needed. There are of course cases where a customized analysis or regression is required. Also, confidential data may preclude uploading proprietary data. In either case, contact Pragma Design for custom analysis options and/or private accounts.

Why not do it myself?

If you have the capability and time to test the devices, create or acquire the models, configure the simulators and the experience to interpret the results, then any designer using the academic analysis approach in the literature should be able to accomplish similar goals. That is to say: to develop a common simulation platform, aggregate a diverse library of validated models, and cross-check it against a multitude of diverse implementations. For the high volume, resource rich enterprise, there are competitive advantages to doing just this given that the overhead is justified. For the smaller entity who may need the tools infrequently, a ready-to-use solution like PESTO℠ is often a good way to bridge the gap in resources.

Why should I use PESTO℠?

You are a design engineer who could run the simulation yourself, but you're not an expert on the proven spice models for IEC61000-4-2 ESD guns. You are a technical marketing engineer who is responsible for analyzing the competition, but are limited by how many parts you can send to the internal lab for destructive analysis. You can't get any samples of the devices you're designing before you get your system back, and you need to know quickly which footprint(s) to design in. You cannot risk your initial prototypes for destructive ESD testing, and you need to try out some things before actually creating smoke. You cannot risk your initial prototypes for destructive ESD testing, but you already smoked it during ESD qualification and now you need to present your apology at the design review with detailed information about what went wrong!