Unravelling the Brain with High Density CMOS Neural Probes Slides

Abstract: Large-scale neural interfacing is needed to provide better understanding of the brain at the cellular level and to develop more advanced prosthetic devices and brain-machine interfaces. However, interfacing with biological tissues poses many challenges such as biocompatibility, the size scale of cellular features, the stability and longevity of the materials in a moist environment at body temperature, and the tiny signal amplitudes to be captured. Therefore, the devices and circuits designed for these interfaces need fulfil a series of requirements to tackle these challenges. This talk will provide a general overview of existing techniques and requirements to perform neural recording, as well as an in-depth review of CMOS neural probes: technology requirements, materials, circuit techniques, design problems and possible solutions. A discussion on future trends and remaining challenges will also be included.