Evaluation of an elastomer based gold microelectrode array for neural recording applications

Minev, I. R., Chew, D. J., Delivopoulos, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6156-1133, Fawcett, J. W. and Lacour, S. P. (2011) Evaluation of an elastomer based gold microelectrode array for neural recording applications. In: 2011 5th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering. IEEE, pp. 482-485. doi: 10.1109/NER.2011.5910591

Abstract/Summary

We are reporting on the fabrication and electrical characterization of a novel elastomer based micro-cuff neural interface. Electrodes are gold (Au) tracks of sub-100nm thickness and are thermally evaporated on a 0.5 mm thick polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. We investigate how electrode area and immersion in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 37°C influence electrode impedance. A microfluidic channel is bonded to the electrode array to form the cuff. In an acute, in-vivo, proof-of-principle recording, the device is capable of detecting light stroking and pinch of a hind leg of an anaesthetized rat.