A silicon based electrode array for intracortical stimulation: structural and electrical properties

Preliminary results are presented of efforts to produce a silicon-based, three-dimensional electrode array that could be used for stimulation of neurons in the central nervous system. The authors have produced monocrystalline silicon structures which could form the mechanical foundation for such a cortical electrode array. The structures consist of 100 needles on a 4-mm×4-mm substrate. Each needle in the array is 1.5-mm in length and tapers from 80 μm at its base to a sharpened tip. Also described are the electrical properties of the electrodes in the array