Neural Microelectrodes: Design, Integration, and Applications

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B:Biology and Biomedicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 1772

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Bioengineering, University of Oregon, 1505 Franklin Boulevard, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
Interests: neural stimulation and recording; thin-film materials; chronic implants; implant system integration; implantable encapsulation

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Interests: basic and translational neural interfaces; (Bio)MEMS; harsh environment sensors; thin film materials; microfabrication; materials characterization; applied surface science; electronic materials; solar cells

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microelectrode arrays serve as critical interfaces between biological systems and electronic devices, enabling the recording and stimulation of neural activity with high spatial and temporal precision. Over the past decades, they have played a foundational role in neuroscience research, neuroprosthetics, and brain–machine interfaces. With recent advances in materials science, microfabrication, and circuit integration, the next generation of microelectrode arrays offers unprecedented capabilities—including higher channel counts, improved biocompatibility, and enhanced mechanical flexibility. These innovations are driving a shift from basic research tools toward clinically and commercially viable technologies, opening new possibilities in both understanding and modulating complex neural systems.

This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the application of next-generation microelectrode arrays for neural interfacing. As microelectrode technologies continue to evolve in terms of resolution, flexibility, biocompatibility, and scalability, their role in both fundamental neuroscience and translational neurotechnology is rapidly expanding.

We welcome submissions that explore the design and deployment of advanced microelectrode arrays in real-world experimental or clinical settings. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, novel electrode architectures, electronics integration systems including advances in headstage designs, multi-modal integration, packaging, chronic implantation strategies, and system-level demonstrations of functionality in neural recording or stimulation. Studies that translate microfabrication innovations into practical, high-performance neural interfaces, as well as those that validate next-generation arrays in vivo or in vitro. Microstimulation applications of microscale devices and contributions describing application-driven engineering solutions—spanning device characterization, data acquisition, and interface optimization—are strongly encouraged.

Dr. Felix Deku
Dr. Loren Rieth
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • neural engineering
  • microelectrode arrays
  • high‑channel neural systems
  • open‑source neurotechnology
  • flexible biointerfaces
  • signal acquisition
  • chronic implantation
  • hardware-software co-design
  • microstimulation and neural recording

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2428 KB  
Article
Tantalum Interconnect Metallization for Thin-Film Neural Interface Devices
by Justin R. Abbott, Yupeng Wu, Zachariah M. Campanini, Alexandra Joshi-Imre, Felix Deku and Stuart F. Cogan
Micromachines 2026, 17(3), 334; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi17030334 - 10 Mar 2026
Viewed by 546
Abstract
Neural interfaces created using thin-film fabrication rely primarily on conductive metal traces for electrical interconnects. Here, we explore the use of tantalum (Ta) metal interconnects as a replacement for noble-metal interconnects such as Au, Pt or Ir. Ta has been investigated previously for [...] Read more.
Neural interfaces created using thin-film fabrication rely primarily on conductive metal traces for electrical interconnects. Here, we explore the use of tantalum (Ta) metal interconnects as a replacement for noble-metal interconnects such as Au, Pt or Ir. Ta has been investigated previously for interconnect metallization in flexible silicon ribbon cables, but the structure and properties of tantalum for neural device metallization have not been extensively reported. In the present work, Ta metal was sputter-deposited onto amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC), with and without a base titanium (Ti) adhesion layer, and investigated as interconnect metallization. In the absence of a Ti adhesion layer, resistivity measurements revealed a factor of six difference between Ta resistivity depending on the presence of the Ti base layer, with direct deposition on a-SiC nucleating high resistivity β-Ta (ρ = 197 ± 31 µΩ·cm, mean ± standard deviation) and Ta deposited on Ti nucleating low resistivity α-Ta (ρ = 35 ± 6 µΩ·cm). X-ray diffraction confirmed the existence of the two crystal structures. Ta feature sizes of 2 µm were created using photolithography and reactive ion etching (RIE). Finally, planar microelectrode array test structures using α-Ta and Au trace metallization with low-impedance ruthenium oxide (RuOx) electrodes were fabricated and investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and current pulsing in saline. These devices underwent 500 CV cycles between −0.6 and +0.6 V without evidence of degradation. In response to charge-balanced, biphasic current pulses at 4 nC/phase, a 21 mV increase in access voltage was observed with α-Ta metallization compared to Au. These results warrant further investigation of Ta as thin-film metallization interconnects for neural interface devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neural Microelectrodes: Design, Integration, and Applications)
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