IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2018

The Fritz Huettinger Chair of Microelectronics is proud to have again presented two papers at the renowned IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (IEEE ISSCC 2018). One of the papers was declared the highlight for “Advanced Biomedical Systems”:

D. De Dorigo, C. Moranz, H. Graf, M. Marx, B. Shui, M. Kuhl, and Y. Manoli, "A Fully Immersible Deep-Brain Neural Probe with Modular Architecture and a Delta-Sigma ADC Integrated Under each Electrode for Parallel Readout of 144 Recording Sites"

Quote from the ISSCC Press Kit

Context and State of the Art

• Tissue-penetrating probes for high-density deep-brain recording of in vivo neural activity provide important tools for neuroscience exploration and disease management.
• Conventional devices need either a large number of interconnects at the base of the probe or allow only a reduced number of electrodes to be read out simultaneously.

Technical Highlights

• First reported reconfigurable miniaturized probe, with a single 11.5mm-long 70μm-wide needle shank without a base.
• Parallel readout of all 144 integrated recording sites.
• Incremental delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters (ΔΣ-ADC) integrated within 70x70μm2 area under each electrode avoid global routing of noise-sensitive neural signals.
• Smallest external 8-wire interface, including supplies, biases, and digital.

Applications and Economic Impact

• Slim shaft of 70μm from top to bottom can potentially improve neural recording quality and longevity for chronic brain monitoring.
• Chronic recording of neural signals from the brain accelerates understanding of neurological diseases and improves health outcomes."