MIL-HDBK-2164 Revision A:1996

Provides guidelines for Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) of electronic equipment including screening conditions, durations of exposure, procedures, equipment operations, action taken upon detection of defects, and screening documentation. This ESS process may effectively disclose manufacturing defects, design problems by using common stimuli such as temperature cycling or random vibration.

This handbook provides guidelines for Environmental Stress Screening (ESS) of electronic equipment, including environmental operation, actions takes upon detection of defects, and screening documentation. These guidelines provide for a uniform ESS process that may be utilized for effectively disclosing manufacturing defects in electronic equipment caused by poor workmanship and faulty or marginal parts. It will also identify design problems if the design is inherently fragile or if qualification and reliability growth tests were too benign or not accomplished. The most common stimuli used in ESS are temperature cycling and random vibration. A viable ESS program must be dynamic; the screening program must be actively managed, and tailored to the particular characteristics of the equipment being screened. It should be noted that there are no universal screens applicable to all equipment.