A low-profile three-dimensional silicon/parylene stimulating electrode array for neural prosthesis applications

This paper describes a low-profile three-dimensional silicon/parylene microelectrode array as basis for practical neural prostheses for use in the central nervous system. The circuit areas of the silicon probes, containing mixed-signal CMOS circuitry for neural stimulation/recording, can be folded over to reduce the overall height of the microassembled array above the cortical surface. The low- profile structure is implemented using multiple gold beams spaced by orthogonal silicon braces. An integrated silicon/parylene batch process is introduced to encapsulate these interconnects and achieve high yield.