Patent ID: 8011226

Claim:
A method for detecting leaks in or a rate of leakage of a hermetically sealed integrated circuit package having a cavity, the method comprising: integrating a micromachined-thermal-convection accelerometer in the hermetically sealed package; measuring an initial inner pressure (P 1 ) of the cavity; measuring an initial sensitivity (S 1 ) of the micromachined-thermal-convection accelerometer in the cavity; measuring a second sensitivity (S 2 ) of the micromachined-thermal-convection accelerometer in the cavity at some time (t); calculating a second inner pressure (P 2 ) of the cavity at time (t); and calculating an average leakage rate (R) using the initial inner pressure (P 1 ), the second inner pressure (P 2 ), and time (t), wherein the average leakage rate (R) is calculated using the equation: R =( P 2 −P 1)/ t.