Publicação

Microshaping of aluminum-based neural microelectrode arrays using chemical wet-etching

Detalhes bibliográficos
Resumo:	Chemical wet-etching is a standard technique for microelectrode arrays (MEA) fabrication. However its manufacturing reproducibility continues to be hindered by its dependence on several process parameters. Following previous works on aluminum-based MEA fabrication [1], this paper provides the first insight on a parametric study of the wet-etching process for an aluminum neural MEA. By playing around with some process parameters, one can achieve more homogeneous shafts with vertical or pyramidal profiles. High width uniformity (96%) along the high-aspect-ratio shafts was accomplished through the introduction of a sacrificial frame around the array. At the same time, the new fabrication approach transforms vertical square shafts into sharpened shafts with pyramidal geometries. Through fine control of the etching dynamics, different shafts geometries are feasible, allowing customized neural MEA designs for each application.
Autores principais:	Gonçalves, Sandra Beatriz Tomé
Outros Autores:	Peixoto, Alexandre Coumiotis Moreira; Rodrigues, José Artur Oliveira; Ferreira da Silva, Alexandre; Correia, J. H.
Assunto:	Aluminum Chemical wet-etching Invasive neural electrode Microelectrode array Microshaping
Ano:	2014
País:	Portugal
Tipo de documento:	comunicação em conferência
Tipo de acesso:	acesso restrito
Instituição associada:	Universidade do Minho
Idioma:	inglês
Origem:	RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho

Descrição
Resumo:	Chemical wet-etching is a standard technique for microelectrode arrays (MEA) fabrication. However its manufacturing reproducibility continues to be hindered by its dependence on several process parameters. Following previous works on aluminum-based MEA fabrication [1], this paper provides the first insight on a parametric study of the wet-etching process for an aluminum neural MEA. By playing around with some process parameters, one can achieve more homogeneous shafts with vertical or pyramidal profiles. High width uniformity (96%) along the high-aspect-ratio shafts was accomplished through the introduction of a sacrificial frame around the array. At the same time, the new fabrication approach transforms vertical square shafts into sharpened shafts with pyramidal geometries. Through fine control of the etching dynamics, different shafts geometries are feasible, allowing customized neural MEA designs for each application.