Surface-Micromachined Neural Sensors with Integrated Double Side Recordings on Dry-Etch Benzocyclobutene(BCB) Substrate

A neural sensor with novel structure and capable of double side recordings has been designed and fabricated using surface micromachining technique. Dry-etch benzocyclobutene (BCB) was selected as the substrate and packaging material for its excellent electrical, mechanical and thermal properties. Positive photoresist (AZ4620) was used as the sacrificial layer during the formation of backside recording sites, and the lift-off process combined with BCB dry etch technique was developed to open the recording sites on the backside. The finished device has intracortical recording sites on both sides, and also epidural recording sites on the front side. The total channel number doubled compared to that of single side electrode structure. Three dry-etch BCB layers were applied to insulate the front side conduction traces from the backside trace layer, and package the entire devices. The developed process shows reliable and high fabrication yield, and results suggest that this newly developed neural sensor could improve the performance and efficiency of neural recording