earth reference plane (ERP)

An earth potential reference surface (ERP) is a conductive surface that is connected to the earth potential.

The earth potential reference surface can be a wire mesh or a mat with a conductive undersurface. Such an earth potential reference surface is used in Electrostatic Protected Areas ( EPA) at workplaces in electronics manufacturing and semiconductor production, as well as in test engineering and measurement technology, and ensures that the measured object, the measuring equipment and the operator have a uniform reference potential.