An attempt to assess the reliability of a batch of MEMS accelerometers is presented. The testing plan is application oriented and contains combined tests: thermal and mechanical stresses (two variants: vibration and tilting) were used. The results demonstrated the good reliability of the tested device, the failure rate being smaller than 6.10^-8h^-1.

Quantitative Accelerated Life Testing (QALT) is a solution for assessing the reliability of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). A procedure for QALT is shown in this paper and an attempt to assess the reliability level for a batch of MEMS accelerometers is reported. The testing plan is application-driven and contains combined tests: thermal (high temperature) and mechanical stress. Two variants of mechanical stress are used: vibration (at a fixed frequency) and tilting. Original equipment for testing at tilting and high temperature is used. Tilting is appropriate as application-driven stress, because the tilt movement is a natural environment for devices used for automotive and aerospace applications. Also, tilting is used by MEMS accelerometers for anti-theft systems. The test results demonstrated the excellent reliability of the studied devices, the failure rate in the "worst case" being smaller than 10^-7h^-1.