In vivo neuronal action potential recordings via three-dimensional microscale needle-electrode arrays

Very fine needle-electrode arrays potentially offer both low invasiveness and high spatial resolution of electrophysiological neuronal recordings in vivo. Herein we report the penetrating and recording capabilities of silicon-growth-based three-dimensional microscale-diameter needle-electrodes arrays. The fabricated needles exhibit a circular-cone shape with a 3-μm-diameter tip and a 210-μm length. Due to the microscale diameter, our silicon needles are more flexible than other microfabricated silicon needles with larger diameters. Coating the microscale-needle-tip with platinum black results in an impedance of ~600 kΩ in saline with output/input signal amplitude ratios of more than 90% at 40 Hz–10 kHz. The needles can penetrate into the whisker barrel area of a rat's cerebral cortex, and the action potentials recorded from some neurons exhibit peak-to-peak amplitudes of ~300 μV(pp). These results demonstrate the feasibility of in vivo neuronal action potential recordings with a microscale needle-electrode array fabricated using silicon growth technology.