Patent ID: 8579502

Claim:
A method for determining a leak rate through a bond line of a MEMS device with a cavity having a predetermined volume, the method comprising the steps of: exposing the MEMS device to a fluid in a chamber for a predetermined time period at a first temperature that vaporizes the fluid; cooling the MEMS device to a second temperature that freezes the fluid; operating the MEMS device at a third temperature that maintains the fluid in a frozen state until occurrence of discontinuity in performance, the discontinuity in performance indicating that fluid has leaked into the MEMS cavity through the bond line; upon occurrence of a discontinuity in performance, determining the volume of the fluid in the MEMS device using the third temperature and the predetermined volume of the MEMS cavity; and determining the leak rate through the bond line using the determined volume of the fluid in the MEMS device and the predetermined time period the MEMS device was exposed to the vaporized fluid.