1. A miniaturized multi-clamp CMOS amplifier for intracellular neural recording
- Author
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Rafael Yuste, M. Angeles Rabadán, Krishna Jayant, Raju Tomer, Siddharth Shekar, and Kenneth L. Shepard
- Subjects
Computer science ,02 engineering and technology ,Integrated circuit ,Noise (electronics) ,Article ,law.invention ,03 medical and health sciences ,law ,Hardware_GENERAL ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Miniaturization ,Hardware_INTEGRATEDCIRCUITS ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Instrumentation ,Electrical impedance ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,business.industry ,Amplifier ,020208 electrical & electronic engineering ,Electrical engineering ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,CMOS ,visual_art ,Electronic component ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,Resistor ,business - Abstract
Intracellular electrophysiology is a foundational method in neuroscience and uses electrolyte-filled glass electrodes and benchtop amplifiers to measure and control transmembrane voltages and currents. Commercial amplifiers perform such recordings with high signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) but are often expensive, bulky, and not easily scalable to many channels due to reliance on board-level integration of discrete components. Here, we present a monolithic complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) multi-clamp amplifier integrated circuit capable of recording both voltages and currents with performance exceeding that of commercial benchtop instrumentation. Miniaturization enables high-bandwidth current mirroring, facilitating the synthesis of large-valued active resistors with lower noise than their passive equivalents. This enables the realization of compensation modules that can account for a wide range of electrode impedances. We validate the amplifier's operation electrically, in primary neuronal cultures, and in acute slices, using both high-impedance sharp and patch electrodes. This work provides a solution for low-cost, high-performance and scalable multi-clamp amplifiers.
- Published
- 2019