Uploaded November 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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I tested the 32KHz MEMs oscillator used in some phones, and discovered that just a 2% helium environment will cause the oscillator to fail. I also do a teardown of the MEMs device, and inspect it under the electron microscope.

iFixit blog post: ifixit.org/blog/11986/iphones-are-allergic-to-helium and vid: youtube.com/watch?v=D0YLW6v5hrA


Original thread about MRI facility and iPhone failure on Reddit: reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/9mk2o7/mri_disabled_every_ios_device_in_facility



MEMs silicon encapsulation: http://micromachine.stanford.edu/~bongsang/pdf/Candler_2005_Transducers05_Hydrogen_diffusion_encapsulated.pdf sitime.com/api/gated/AN20001-MEMS-First-and-EpiSeal-Processes.pdf https://sci-hub.tw/10.1109/TADVP.2003.818062

I added images and raw data here: drive.google.com/drive/folders/1l3mJ4UTs8aY70scH7vDaf0M8pLeP2kqI?usp=sharing

Applied Science on Patreon: patreon.com/AppliedScience