Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces
Abstract Increasing the proximity of microelectrode arrays (MEA) to targeted neural tissues can establish efficient neural interfaces for both recording and stimulation applications. This has been achieved by constructing protruding three-dimensional (3D) structures on top of conventional planar mic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | npj Flexible Electronics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-024-00378-0 |
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| author | Dong Hyeon Lee Younghoon Park Yoon Seo Hannah Noh Hyunbeen Jeong Jongmo Seo Min-Ho Seo Kyungsik Eom Joonsoo Jeong |
| author_facet | Dong Hyeon Lee Younghoon Park Yoon Seo Hannah Noh Hyunbeen Jeong Jongmo Seo Min-Ho Seo Kyungsik Eom Joonsoo Jeong |
| author_sort | Dong Hyeon Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Increasing the proximity of microelectrode arrays (MEA) to targeted neural tissues can establish efficient neural interfaces for both recording and stimulation applications. This has been achieved by constructing protruding three-dimensional (3D) structures on top of conventional planar microelectrodes via additional micromachining steps. However, this approach adds fabrication complexities and limits the 3D structures to certain shapes. We propose a one-step fabrication of MEAs with versatile microscopic 3D structures via “microelectrothermoforming (μETF)” of thermoplastics, by utilizing 3D-printed molds to locally deform planar MEAs into protruding and recessing shapes. Electromechanical optimization enabled a 3D MEA with 80 μm protrusions and/or recession for 100 μm diameter. Its simple and versatile shaping capabilities are demonstrated by diverse 3D structures on a single MEA. The benefits of 3D MEA are evaluated in retinal stimulation through numerical simulations and ex vivo experiments, confirming a threshold lowered by 1.7 times and spatial resolution enhanced by 2.2 times. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5e574f26e21c44d5b9d91ca148a1564c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2397-4621 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Flexible Electronics |
| spelling | doaj-art-5e574f26e21c44d5b9d91ca148a1564c2025-01-26T12:57:40ZengNature Portfolionpj Flexible Electronics2397-46212025-01-019111310.1038/s41528-024-00378-0Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfacesDong Hyeon Lee0Younghoon Park1Yoon Seo2Hannah Noh3Hyunbeen Jeong4Jongmo Seo5Min-Ho Seo6Kyungsik Eom7Joonsoo Jeong8School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Information Convergence Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Information Convergence Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Information Convergence Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering, Pusan National UniversityDepartment of Information Convergence Engineering, Pusan National UniversityAbstract Increasing the proximity of microelectrode arrays (MEA) to targeted neural tissues can establish efficient neural interfaces for both recording and stimulation applications. This has been achieved by constructing protruding three-dimensional (3D) structures on top of conventional planar microelectrodes via additional micromachining steps. However, this approach adds fabrication complexities and limits the 3D structures to certain shapes. We propose a one-step fabrication of MEAs with versatile microscopic 3D structures via “microelectrothermoforming (μETF)” of thermoplastics, by utilizing 3D-printed molds to locally deform planar MEAs into protruding and recessing shapes. Electromechanical optimization enabled a 3D MEA with 80 μm protrusions and/or recession for 100 μm diameter. Its simple and versatile shaping capabilities are demonstrated by diverse 3D structures on a single MEA. The benefits of 3D MEA are evaluated in retinal stimulation through numerical simulations and ex vivo experiments, confirming a threshold lowered by 1.7 times and spatial resolution enhanced by 2.2 times.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-024-00378-0 |
| spellingShingle | Dong Hyeon Lee Younghoon Park Yoon Seo Hannah Noh Hyunbeen Jeong Jongmo Seo Min-Ho Seo Kyungsik Eom Joonsoo Jeong Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces npj Flexible Electronics |
| title | Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| title_full | Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| title_fullStr | Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| title_short | Microelectrothermoforming (μETF): one-step versatile 3D shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| title_sort | microelectrothermoforming μetf one step versatile 3d shaping of flexible microelectronics for enhanced neural interfaces |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-024-00378-0 |
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