A high-yield fabrication process for silicon neural probes.
There is a great need for silicon microelectrodes that can simultaneously monitor the activity of many neurons in the brain. However, one of the existing processes for fabricating silicon microelectrodes-reactive-ion etching in combination with anisotropic KOH etching-breaks down at the wet-etching step for device release. Here we describe a modified wet-etching sidewall-protection technique for the high-yield fabrication of well-defined silicon probe structures, using a Teflon shield and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) silicon nitride. In the proposed method, a micro-tab holds each individual probe to the central scaffold, allowing uniform anisotropic KOH etching. Using this approach, we obtained a well-defined probe structure without device loss during the wet-etching process. This simple method yielded more accurate fabrication and an improved mechanical profile.
Nano Bioelectronics and Systems Research Center, Seoul National University, Korea.
Seung Jae
SJ
Oh
Jong Keun
JK
Song
Jin Won
JW
Kim
Sung June
SJ
Kim
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004595:Electroplating / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008839:Microelectrodes; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D012825:Silicon