Design and fabrication of multi-contact flexible silicon probes for intracortical floating implantation

This paper reports on a novel design and process flow development for the fabrication of multi-contact silicon probes with monolithically integrated highly flexible ribbon cables on wafer level, based on the biocompatible polymer parylene-C. Compared to the state-of-the-art silicon probes, this novel development allows for the first time a floating implantation of these neural probes in the cortex with reduced destructive forces applied to the brain tissue. In-vitro electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements and first in-vivo measurements in the cortex of a rat demonstrate the functionality of these probes.