1. Hybrid Multisite Silicon Neural Probe with Integrated Flexible Connector for Interchangeable Packaging
- Author
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Helder Fonseca, L. R. Jacinto, Patricia Monteiro, Ashley Cruz Novais, J. Fernandes, Carlos Calaza, Joao Gaspar, and Universidade do Minho
- Subjects
Silicon ,Materials science ,Fabrication ,neural probe ,Ciências da Saúde [Ciências Médicas] ,Ciências Médicas::Ciências da Saúde ,neuroMEMS ,Polymers ,chemistry.chemical_element ,02 engineering and technology ,lcsh:Chemical technology ,Biochemistry ,Article ,Analytical Chemistry ,03 medical and health sciences ,Cable gland ,0302 clinical medicine ,lcsh:TP1-1185 ,Wafer ,Electronics ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,Instrumentation ,sensorimotor cortex ,Electrodes ,Interconnection ,Science & Technology ,silicon and polyimide microfabrication ,business.industry ,in vivo electrophysiology ,Flexible cable ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics ,3. Good health ,Electrophysiological Phenomena ,chemistry ,flexible interconnect cable ,Optoelectronics ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Polyimide ,interchangeable packaging - Abstract
Multisite neural probes are a fundamental tool to study brain function. Hybrid silicon/polymer neural probes combine rigid silicon and flexible polymer parts into one single device and allow, for example, the precise integration of complex probe geometries, such as multishank designs, with flexible biocompatible cabling. Despite these advantages and benefiting from highly reproducible fabrication methods on both silicon and polymer substrates, they have not been widely available. This paper presents the development, fabrication, characterization, and in vivo electrophysiological assessment of a hybrid multisite multishank silicon probe with a monolithically integrated polyimide flexible interconnect cable. The fabrication process was optimized at wafer level, and several neural probes with 64 gold electrode sites equally distributed along 8 shanks with an integrated 8 µm thick highly flexible polyimide interconnect cable were produced. The monolithic integration of the polyimide cable in the same fabrication process removed the necessity of the postfabrication bonding of the cable to the probe. This is the highest electrode site density and thinnest flexible cable ever reported for a hybrid silicon/polymer probe. Additionally, to avoid the time-consuming bonding of the probe to definitive packaging, the flexible cable was designed to terminate in a connector pad that can mate with commercial zero-insertion force (ZIF) connectors for electronics interfacing. This allows great experimental flexibility because interchangeable packaging can be used according to experimental demands. High-density distributed in vivo electrophysiological recordings were obtained from the hybrid neural probes with low intrinsic noise and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)., This work has been funded by: national funds through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—projects UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020; the projects NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000013 (“PersonalizedNOS—New avenues for the development of personalized medical interventions for neurological, oncologic and surgical disorders”) and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 (“FROnTHERA—Frontiers of technology for theranostics of cancer, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases”), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI— Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122); FCT project PTDC/MEDNEU/ 28073/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028073); and The Branco Weiss fellowship—Society in Science, (ETH Zurich).
- Published
- 2021