Novel transducers for high-channel-count neuroelectronic recording interfaces

Neuroelectronic interfaces with the nervous system are an essential technology in state-of-the-art neuroscience research aiming to uncover the fundamental working mechanisms of the brain. Progress towards increased spatio-temporal resolution has been tightly linked to the advance of microelectronics technology and novel materials. Translation of these technologies to neuroscience has resulted in multichannel neural probes and acquisition systems enabling the recording of brain signals using thousands of channels. This review provides an overview of state-of-the-art neuroelectronic technologies, with emphasis on recording site architectures which enable the implementation of addressable arrays for high-channel-count neural interfaces. In this field, active transduction mechanisms are gaining importance fueled by novel materials, as they facilitate the implementation of high density addressable arrays.
This work has been funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 732032(BrainCom) and Grant Agreement No. 881603 (Graphene Flagship) and co-funded by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) allocated to the Programa operatiu FEDER de Catalunya 2014–2020, with the support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca of the Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement of the Generalitat de Catalunya for emerging technology clusters devoted to the valorization and transfer of research results (GraphCAT 001-P-001702). The ICN2 is supported by the Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence program, funded by the Spanish Research Agency (AEI, grant no. SEV-2017-0706), and by the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya.