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FIGURE 10.23 Schematic representation of variable diffraction grating. The value of will depend on the position
of the upper, poly-2 grating and the three positions span a full period as indicated by the solid lines, for the following
values of : (a) = 0, (b) = 2 m, and (c) = 4 m. (Sene, D. E. et al., in Proceedings of the Ninth Annual International
Workshop on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, San Diego, CA, February 1996, 222. With permission.)
Scanning Mirrors
Miller et al.133 fabricated a magnetically actuated scanner with a 30-turn coil on an 11-m thick permalloy
layer. The external magnetic field provided deflection while the coil provided fine control and/or fast
motion. Asada et al.134 fabricated optical scanners with bulk micromachining and a magnetic drive. The
electroplated copper used photoresist mold with period of 50 m. Coils formed on the x-axis and y-axis
plate of the Pyrex glass plate. Spring constants were evaluated for the x- and y-axes at 6.48 104 Nm
and 12.8 104 Nm, respectively, and resonant frequencies of 380 Hz and 1450 Hz, respectively. Judy
and Muller135 demonstrated a torsional mirror scanner moved with a magnetic field. They electroplated
a nickel mirror 450-m square on a polysilicon flexure over a 10-turn coil. With a current of 500 mA
and field of ~5 kA/m, the mirror moved more than 45. Micromachined electromagnetic scanning mirrors
have also been fabricated and demonstrated by Miller and Tai.136 One advantage of magnetic actuators
is that both attractive and repulsive forces can be generated. The mirrors are permalloy coated (Ni90Fe10)
and formed on a silicon substrate with a 20-m thick epitaxial layer for etch stop. Copper coils are
electroplated into a photoresist mold. The mirror is shown schematically in Fig. 10.25(a), and the
deflection as a function of the external magnetic field in Fig. 10.25(b). Utilizing these mirrors, holographic
data storage has been demonstrated. Scanners are widely used in printers, display devices, graphic storage
systems, and bar code readers.
Kiang et al.137 have developed polysilicon hinged structures for scanners which utilized an electrostatic
drive. The 200 250-m mirror was rotated 12 with a drive voltage of 20 V, and the device had a
resonant frequency of 3 kHz.
Fischer et al.138 have utilized electrostatic means for mirror deflection with integrated p-well CMOS drive
circuits. Two types of torsional mirrors, comprising a polysilicon layer with double-beam suspension and
a reflecting area of 75 41 m2, have been realized. The mirrors were integrated by post-processing a layer
of polysilicon at 630C, implanting with phosphorus, dose 5 1015/cm2, and annealing at 900C, resulting
in a resistivity of 100/sq. The electronics included a demultiplexer circuit for addressing the mirrors and
a drive circuit producing 30 V for the electrostatic deflection. Bhler et al.139 have also developed an
electrostatically driven mirror made of aluminum in arrays for low-cost applications. The CMOS-compat-
ible process consisted of modifying the second metal layer deposited process into two successive passes. The
first, of 1.1 m, established a thick metal layer for the mirror plate and the second, of 0.3 m, a thin metal
layer for the hinges. Deposition was carried out by sputtering at 250C for improved step coverage; however,
a roughness of ~53 nm resulted. Smooth reflecting surface room-temperature depositions were preferred,
resulting in roughness ~12.5 nm. The mirrors were released by sacrificial aluminum and oxide etching.
They were deflected with a drive voltage of 11 V for a pixel area of 30 40 m2.
Ikeda et al.140 fabricated a scanning system that had a two-dimensional array with integrated photo-
detectors and piezoresistors. A bulk piezoelectric actuator moves the silicon nitride bridges with a
torsional spring scanning angle of 40 and 30 bending and twisting and a resonant frequency of 577 Hz
in bending and 637 Hz in torsional motion.
Huang et al.141 have demonstrated piezoelectrically actuated ZnO cantilevers for application in pro-
jection displays, as shown in Fig. 10.26. One of the key advantages of piezoelectrically controlled motion
is that the displacement is linearly proportional to the applied voltage. Although sputtered ZnO films
have a lower piezoelectric coefficient than PZT, the fabrication process is compatible with CMOS
(b)
(c)
FIGURE 10.24 (a) Schematic diagram of reflective blazed grating illuminated at normal incidence; (b) cross-
sectional view of the slat support posts and flexure used in the electrostatically actuated variable blaze grating; (c)
the embossing present in the cross-section view of the gold layer. (Burns, D. B. and Bright, V. M., Sensors and Actuators
A, 64, 7, 1998. With permission.)
(b)
FIGURE 10.25 (a) Schematic diagram and cross-section of the deflected magnetic micromirror; (b) change in
deflection angle from bias position for a variable coil current with external field of 994 Oe. (Miller, R. and Tai, Y.-
C., Opt. Eng., 36, 1399, 1997. With permission.)
processing. Calculations show that for a beam length of 150 m, the tip deflection is 0.06/V or 0.12
m/V. The ZnO is fabricated with a sacrificial spin-on-glass process, the upper and lower electrodes
formed from aluminum. The release step involves a HF vapor etch at low concentration to avoid attack
of the Al and ZnO thin film. Tip displacements were measured with a laser interferometer and, in order
to distinguish between any thermal contribution to the measured deflections, a drive waveform of
unbiased square wave was selected. The frequency response was over 80 Hz with a 1 m air gap and
limited to about 10 Hz with a 0.5-m air gap, indicating the dominance of squeeze film damping. The
thermal deflection was bout 2 to 3 orders of magnitude less than the piezoelectric response.
Spectrometer on a Chip
Surface micromachining has been demonstrated by Lin et al.142 for out-of-plane assembly of optical
elements. The hinge mechanism allows the plate to be moved to a vertical position and locked into place
with a spring latch (see Fig. 10.27(a)). Micro-Fresnel lenses with a 280-m diameter and an optical axis
254 m above the plane of the silicon have been realized. The slide latch precisely defines the angle of
the element (see Fig. 10.27(b)). It has a V shape 2 m wide in the center. In addition, rotating structures
can be realized, such as a rotating mirror. Surface micromachined free space optical components have
been demonstrated by Lee et al.143 for the collimation and routing of optical beams. Microgratings with
5-m pitch are fabricated on flip-up structures metallized with a thin layer of aluminum. A diffraction
pattern was imaged with a CCD camera and beams directed to a second grating into the zero-order
beam. Recent progress in micro-optical systems is reviewed by Bright et al.,144 including mirrors, Fresnel
lenses, gratings, and larger systems. All of these structures were fabricated by surface micromachining in
the MCMC processes145 using electrostatically actuated gold surfaced mirror.
Micromechanical Displays
Miniature display systems have been commercialized by Texas Instruments in projection television
systems.146 They offer the advantage of cold operation and high contrast (>100:1) compared to the
cathode-ray tube (CRT). A CMOS-like process over a CMOS memory element defined aluminum
mirrors, each 16 16 m2 in area, that can reflect light in two directions. The hinges and support structure
are positioned under the reflector element. The display element can be moved by up to +/-10 and at
speeds up to 10 s, which make them suitable for standard rate NTSC video. Figure 10.28 shows the
structure of one element in the 124 124 elements. The underlying memory cell operates on 5 V. Eight-
bit pulse width modulation of the mirror state produces a gray scale or color image. The fabrication
process is compatible with CMOS processing; however, to date, only the display has been fabricated on
chip, and hybrid packaging is used for the drive electronics.
(b)
FIGURE 10.27 (a) Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional micro-optics element. After release etch, the micro-
optical plate can be rotated out of the substrate plane and locked by the spring latches (Bright, V. M. et al. IEICE
Trans. Electron., E80-C, 206, 1997. With permission.); (b) SEM micrograph of the micro-Fresnel lens in the micro-
XYZ stage integrated with eight scratch drive actuators. (Lee, S. S. et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 67, 2135, 1995. With
permission.)
photodiode. The recording medium was a phase change material SbTeGe on a 130-mm diameter glass
substrate. The read/write head was mounted on a gold electrode on the slider. Light reflected from the
medium was fed back into the active region, with head-to-disk spacing of typically <1 m. The 1.3-m
wavelength InGaAsP laser diode has a spot diameter constrained by the ridged waveguide shape. The
reflection of the recording medium was reduced by an antireflection coating of 0.24-m SiNxHy. Record-
ing was achieved by producing a change in the reflectivity of the phase change medium, based on
crystalline to amorphous states of the film, typically at a power of 20 mW and data rates of up to 1 MHz.
Reading is achieved at lower power and higher rates. A single chip which integrates a photodetector,
several Fresnel lenses, and a semiconductor laser has been demonstrated by Lin et al.148 Surface micro-
machining allows the integration of a 45 reflector, Fresnel lens, rotary beam splitter, and photodetector
on a chip. A 980-nm laser source was attached to the surface with an optical axis 245 m above the
silicon surface. The beam splitter has a 20-nm gold layer and the reflectors and mirrors have a thicker
layer of gold. The focusing lens, with a NA of 0.17, results in a spot with FWHM of 6.1 m in the x-
direction and 2.6 m in y-direction. The advantages of this system are small size, light weight, and
potentially low-cost integration of actuation on chip to achieve track-to-track alignment.
Linear Microvibromotor
The linear microvibromotor is based on impact momentum to produce small displacements. Each impact
from the comb drive produces a step of typically 0.27 m. Although this is an impulsive drive, the
standard deviation between steps is 0.17 m. A maximum speed to 1 mm/s has been demonstrated and
used for a slide-tilt mirror and alignment of beams in a fiber coupler.151
Scratch Drive
The scratch drive is based on applying pulses to a plate and allowing the successive bending and release
to produce lateral motion of the bushing to move out.152 During release, the none-symetric functional
forces produce an incremental motion DX. Microactuators and XYZ stages have been developed for a
micro-optical bench.153 A comb drive is used to drive the torsional z actuator with displacements up to
140 m. Figure 10.29(b) is a schematic diagram of the microactuator stage. The lower 45 mirror is
moved to achieve lateral adjustment of the beam. The translation stages are defined in the first (poly-1)
layer, and the second (poly-2) layer defines the optical elements. The scratch drive actuator is particularly
suited for this application because of the high forces and small step size (~10 nm) at moderate drive
voltages of 87 V. Two-dimensional optical beam scanning has been demonstrated of several mm in the
far field at a distance of 14 cm utilizing a HeNe laser source. A micro-Fresnel lens has been integrated
into the actuator with eight scratch drive actuators.
FIGURE 10.29(a) Electron micrograph of an interdigitated electrostatic drive. (Courtesy of Sandia National Labo-
ratories Intelligent Micromachine Initiative; www.mdl.sandia.gov/Micromachine. With permission.)
10.10 Electronics
For electronic applications of MEMS, the compatibility of the micromachining processes with IC pro-
cessing is key for integration with active electronic components. There has been considerable work on
fabrication of passive components by micromachining, specifically capacitors, inductors, and microwave
transmission lines, and other components. The key advantages for passive component integration are
ease of manufacturability for the higher frequency range of 100 to 1000 GHz where characteristic
dimensions are mm to sub-mm range compatible with micromachining. This offers the opportunity to
fabricate components and packaging in an integrated approach. Applications include test instruments,
communications systems, radar, and others.
Electrostatic
Automated test Bulk micromachining and <100V <3 <20 s 172
equipment anodic bonding
Thermal
Switching MUMPS 7-12 V 2.4 80 mA 178
Magnetic
Electrical control Polyimide mold and 180 mA 0.022 1.2 A 0.5-2.5 ms 179
circuits electroplated metals (33 mW)
Microwave Waveguides
Rectangular waveguides have been fabricated by McGrath et al.161 by a bulk micromachining process and
characterized over the frequency range 75 to 110 GHz. Slots are formed in a (110) silicon wafer, which
were subsequently coated with 250 Cr and 5000 Au to form a plating base for a further 3 m of
electroplated Au. Losses measured in a 2.5-cm guide were comparable to commercial waveguides at about
0.024 dB/m. Active and passive components could be integrated into these structures.
Circuit components have also been fabricated by bulk micromachining with the added advantage of
an integrated package by Franklin-Drayton et al.162,163 and Katehi et al.164 A series open-end tuning stub
and a stepped impedance low-pass filter were realized for the frequency range 10 to 40 GHz. The method
of design is based upon a quasi-static model utilizing TEM or quasi-TEM approximation, following this
with a finite difference time-domain technique to evaluate the performance. The mesh was carefully
selected to reduce truncation errors and grid dispersion errors, typically less than 1/20 of the shortest
wavelength. Electrical conductors are assumed perfect conductors and, at dielectric interfaces, the average
of the two permitivities was taken. Metallization comprised Ti/Au/Ti with subsequent electroplating to
a final thickness of 3 m Au. Alignment between cavities and waveguide structures was achieved via
windows etched through the wafer thickness. Figure 10.30(a) shows a five-section, stepped impedance
low-pass filter in which the 100- and 20-ohm impedance steps are formed by conductor widths of 20
m and 380 m, with slot widths of 210 m and 30 m, respectively. Figure 10.30(b) shows the integrated
packaging topology and micrographs of the fabricated structures.
Microwave transmission lines have also been fabricated by Milanovc et al.165 with a commercial CMOS
process with post-processing micromachining. The transmission lines were designed to operate in TEM mode
FIGURE 10.30(a) Integrated packaging. (Drayton, R. F. et al., IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Tech., 46, 900, 1998.
With permission.)
with 50 and 120 nominal characteristic impedance with standard layout tools. The post-processing etch
was used to remove the silicon from underneath the conductive aluminum transmission lines to lower the
losses. Figure 10.30(c) shows the simplified layout of the co-planar waveguides where the open areas are shaded
in black. The open areas are first etched with a xenon difluoride, followed by anisotropic chemical etching
with EDP. The cavities connect beneath the aluminum conductors, but enough material remains for mechan-
ical stability. A fully formed trench also lowers electromagnetic coupling to the substrate. Measurements for
test chip with three different lengths, 0.8 to 3.7 mm, with open and short stubs were made between 1 and 40
GHz. Insertion loss was calculated based on transmission line measurements, as shown in Fig. 10.30(d).
Thermal Devices
A great deal of progress has been made in the integration of thermal sensors, infrared sensors, and gas
flow sensors with on-chip CMOS electronics. Baltes et al.167 describe the fabrication and operation of a
thermoelectric air-flow sensor and an infrared sensor, in addition to measurements of the thermophysical
properties of material components of CMOS electronics.
(b)
(c)
FIGURE 10.30(c) SEM micrograph of the 50 transmission lines, of width 130 m. (a) after CMOS fabrication;
(b) after isotropic etch; and (c) after combined etch. (Milanovic, V. et al., IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Techniq.,
45, 630 1997. With permission.)
Microrelays
An important illustrative example of MEMS process integration in which electronic and mechanical
function are combined is the microrelay. There has been considerable interest in relays and switches
for high-impedance isolation of circuit components, and for RF and microwave switching. There is
insufficient space in this chapter to give a comprehensive overview of these activities; however, Table
10.6 summarizes some of the work that has been directed toward the success of these microdevices
grouped by actuation method. These devices typically have lifetimes of greater than 106 cycles. Zavracky
et al.170 and McGruer et al.171 have built electrostatic relays with multiple contacts to increase the
maximum current-carrying capacity. Micrographs of the electroplated thick film of the relay are shown
in Fig. 10.33. Other electrostatic designs demonstrate low power consumption, 172175 and CMOS-
compatible microrelays have been demonstrated by Grtillat et al.176 Novel latching a surface micro-
machined devices have been demonstrated and an example177 is shown in Fig. 10.34(a).178 Alternative
actuation schemes are thermal and magnetic. Finite element modeling of the actuator and the magnetic
circuit has been carried out by Taylor et al.179 to provide improved design methods for these devices
(see Fig. 10.34(b)). The thickness of the permalloy layer must be large enough to avoid saturation of
the magnetic field. Minimum switching current and optimum coil spacing for operation at under 100
mA were achieved in these devices. The hold force is high to provide low contact resistance. Contact
resistance is a critical issue and has been studied in macroscopic relays by Holm180 and Schimkat181
with forces in the N range.
(b)
FIGURE 10.32 (a) Schematic diagram of a complete bandgap reference showing the PMOS heating transistors and
thermal control loop. The shaded regions are separated thermally isolated n-wells; (b) cross-sectional view of a
thermoelement for an RMS converter, at different stages in the fabrication process: (i) upon completion of the CMOS
process, and (ii) after the post processing step of etching in TMAH. (Reay, R. J., et al., IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits,
30,1374, 1995. With permission.)
(b)
FIGURE 10.33 (a) Micrograph of an electrostatically actuated gold metal microrelay; (b) close up view of the
contact area. (McGruer, N. E. et al., in Digest of Technical Papers, Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, Hilton
Head, South Carolina, June 1998, 132. With permission.)
application, generate 7.5 W in a 50-nozzle array firing at 5 kHz. The chip is covered with an electroplated
layer, shielding the device from mechanical, chemical, and electric damage comprising 4-m nickel and
1 m gold on a Ti/Cu adhesion layer.
process integration. When one considers it the processing complexity required to integrate the electronics
and chemically sensitive layers on chip is justified, there are a number critical issues:
Is the cost per packaged functional sensor lowered by integration?
Does the application requires integration (i.e., is small size essential?)?
Is the sensing function improved by integration?
An excellent review of recent work on chemical sensors has been published by Janata et al.183 Most
work has focused on hybrid designs in which the electronics and chemical sensor arrays are fabricated
separately and then interconnected. The work of Madou et al.184 in a blood gas sensor for the measurement
of pH, CO2, and O2 in vivo is an example of this approach. Here, the device was fabricated by bulk
micromachining on a thin silicon piece approximately 350 m wide and bonded to an associated interface
circuit chip that was made at an IC foundry.
FIGURE 10.35 Structure of the backshooter microsystem ink-jet print head (not to scale) illustration: 1- substrate,
6 - field oxide, 7 - gate oxide, 11 - etch stop layer, 12 -PECVD SiO2, 13- BSG, 14 - first Al layer, 15 - undoped silica
glass, 16 - heater layer, 17 - second Al layer, 18 - thermal throttle layer PECVD Si3N4, 19 - galvanic adhesive layer
Ti/Cu, 20 - carrier layer Ni/ASu, 21 - thermal SiO2. Elements a - bond pad (Al), b - heating element, c - nozzle, d -
p-MOS transistor, e - NMOS transistor, f - ink-jet chamber, g - vapor bubble formed. (Krause, P., et al., Proceedings
of Transducers 95, Stolkholm, Sweden, 1995. With permission.)
(a)
FIGURE 10.36(a) Schematic diagram of an ISFET. (Janata, J., in Solid State Chemical Sensors, J. Janata and R. J. Huber,
Eds., Academic Press, New York, 1985. With permission.)
(c)
FIGURE 10.36(b-c) (b) Carbon black impregnated gate FET. (Domansky, K. et al., in Digest of Technical Paper,
IEEE Solid-State Sensors and Actuators Workshop, Hilton Head, NC, 1998, 187. With permission.); and (c) suspended
gate FET. (Mosowicz, M., and Janata, J., in Chemical Sensor Technology, T. Seiyama, Ed., Elsevier, New York, 1988.
With permission.)
Chemically sensitive layers are, in general, not process compatible with CMOS circuit fabrication.
Approaches that have been made in this area include fabrication of the electronics first, followed by deposition
of the chemically sensitive membranes while the CMOS circuit is covered with a passivation coating.
Hydrogen Sensor
The Pd gate MOS hydrogen sensitive FET was invented by Lundstrm et al.188 The device is shown sche-
matically in Fig. 10.37(a). Upon exposure to hydrogen, dipoles are created at the SiO2/Pd interface producing
a shift in the threshold voltage. A hydrogen chemical sensor has been successfully integrated with electronics
components at Sandia National Laboratories (Rodriguez et al.193). This sensor utilizes two Pd/Ni layers, one
as a chemiresistor and the second as the gate of an FET. Figure 10.37(b) shows a picture of the sensor with
integrated heaters and temperature sensors. The FET shown in Fig. 10.37(b) is more sensitive at low
concentration ranges and has a logarithmic response, however, the conductimetric sensor has a square-root
dependence on the hydrogen concentration. The sensors are operated at elevated temperature of approxi-
mately 100C to increase the reaction kinetics and improve reversibility. Typical response data is shown in
Fig. 10.37(c) with a 1% hydrogen concentration, resulting in a response time of a few seconds. The sensor
combination has an exceptionally wide dynamic range of six orders of magnitude, and response time was
within 5 seconds. Heating is achieved through two power transistors and temperature monitoring with an
array of nine p/n junction diodes. Typical die size is 270 120 mils. Devices have been demonstrated with
stabilities of over 60 days and show reversible behavior. Sensors are being commercialized for detection of
hydrogen in aerospace applications. Advanced versions of this sensor have also been produced with fully
(b)
FIGURE 10.37(a-b) (a) Pd-gate FET. (Lundstrm, I., and Svensson, C., in Solid State Chemical Sensors, J. Janata and
R. J. Huber eds., Academic Press, New York, 1985. With permission.); (b) Photograph of the robust hydrogen sensor
with integrated temperature sensors, Pd gate FET, chemiresistor, and heater elements. (Rodriguez, J. L. et al., IEDM
Tech. Digest, IEEE, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 1992, 521524. With permission.)
integrated op-amps and control electronics, including analog capacitors, high-value polysilicon resistors,
current mirrors, and operational amplifiers.
Gas Sensors
Microhotplates have been developed by Suehle et al.194 for tin oxide chemical sensors. These devices
are conductimetric sensors for reducing gases and operate at elevated temperatures, typically ~350C.
A suspended sandwich structure of CVD oxides, encapsulating a polysilicon heater, and integrated
with an aluminum layer to provide thermal diffusion, is shown in Fig. 10.38. Post-processing was
carried out after a standard CMOS process by EDP etching with added aluminum hydroxide to
ensure passivation of any exposed Al conductors. Heating current (mA) was provided to the poly-
silicon layer and temperature sensing from van der Pauw aluminum layer with a temperature
coefficient of resistance typically 0.003667/C. The hotplates were effectively thermally isolated,
showing efficiency of 8C/mW in air, thermal time constant of 0.6 ms, and maximum operating
temperature of 500C. SnO2 was deposited onto the hotplate by reactive sputter deposition in
ultrahigh vacuum; and by heating the platform during deposition, selective control of the local
material properties was achieved (such as grain size and the conductivity). After deposition, annealing
was also carried out selectively in situ on the hotplates. The selectivity of these devices can be further
modified by addition of catalytic metals such as Pt, Pd, or Ir. Semancik and Cavicchi195 have
demonstrated kinetic sensing on microhotplates by modulation of the sensor temperature to enhance
analyte discrimination. Microhotplates were also fabricated with tungsten metallization so they could
operate up to 800C. The response of a Pt-doped SnO2 sensor operating at 130C to CO gas is shown
in Fig. 10.38(b). The stability of high-temperature micromachined TiOx gas sensors has been inves-
tigated by Patel et al.196 for measurements of hydrogen and propylene in the presence of oxygen. The
temperature played a key role in defining the sensor response to hydrogen at 100C and propylene
when above 350C.
(b)
FIGURE 10.38 (a) Schematic diagram of a single micro-hot plate and functional cross-section of component parts;
(b) static response at 130C of a Pt/SnO2 microsensor to on/off CO exposures, into dry air, of increasing concentrations
from 5 to 45 ppm. (Suehle, J. S. et al., IEEE Elec. Dev. Lett., 14, 118 1993. With permission.)
Artifical Nose
Microfabrication technology lends itself to the construction of arrays of sensors with differing chemical
selectivities. Capacitive-based gas sensors having selectivity to different classes of chemical species197 along
with pattern recognition198 have been demonstrated as a viable scheme for the realization of the electronic
nose. The polymer coatings produce characteristic dielectric constant, mass, or conductivity changes
when the analyte is adsorbed. This work on chemiresistor arrays has also been integrated with CMOS
interface circuits for applications in food quality and odor identification.
(b)
FIGURE 10.39 (a) Schematic diagram of boron doped etch stopped neural probe. (Najafi, K., Handbook of Microli-
thogrpahy, Micromachining, and Microfabrication, Vol. 2: Micromachining and Microfabrication, Ed. P. Rai-Choudhury,
SPIE, Washington, 1997, 517. With permission.); (b) schematic diagram of the neural interface structure. (Akin, T.
and Najafi, K., IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., 41, 305, 1994. With permission.)
Neural Probes
Najafi199 has reviewed his extensive work on neural probes with integrated electronics. The early design
involved four masks and had a high yield. A boron diffusion defined the thickness of the structure. Three-
dimensional multielectrode systems were later developed to improve electrode positioning. Each array
of neural probes is inserted into a silicon machined substrate and electrical connections are made between
the probe and support chip by electroplating nickel. On the chip, preamplifiers are followed by analog
multiplexers and a broad-band output buffer to drive the external data line. Later developments included
a NMOS and CMOS integrated circuit with ten recording sites of gold electrodes on 100-m centers.
The circuit operated with a 5-V supply and consumes 5 mW. A 32-electrode version also has an integrated
multiplexing for 32-to-8 switching array. Preamp specifications were 150 to 300 V/V, 3 dB bandwidth
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