The everyday verb for any leak test, from a quick helium spray on a freshly replaced flange to the full acceptance test of a new chamber. In fabs a leak check is a required step after maintenance before a tool returns to production, logged with the measured value. A tag reading leak-checked means someone watched the detector while every opened joint was sprayed and saw nothing above the spec.
Swapped the gate valve, leak checked it at 5E-11, putting the tool back up for quals.
Also heard as
- leak-check
- leak test
- LC
Related terms
Helium spray test
Outside-in leak test: helium is sprayed on an evacuated part while a detector watches for it inside.
Helium leak detector
Mass spectrometer tuned to helium that finds and measures leaks by detecting helium drawn into the system.
Chase a leak
To hunt down a leak of unknown location joint by joint, often over hours, until the source is pinned down.
Rate of rise
Test that isolates a pumped chamber and tracks how fast the pressure climbs, to estimate leaks and outgassing.