Optical device of flexible implantable neural photoelectrode and its design and fabrication method

Abstract

The invention discloses an optical device of a flexible implantable nerve photoelectrode, which is arranged on a flexible polymer substrate and includes: an input grating, a waveguide and an output grating, the input grating is a parallel grating for coupling incident light, and the input of the waveguide The end of the waveguide is coupled to the input grating, the output end of the waveguide is coupled to the output grating, and the output grating is a focusing grating, which is used to couple and focus light on the recording electrode to provide optical stimulation with single-cell resolution. The invention also discloses the design and preparation method of the optical device. The optical device of the flexible implantable neural photoelectrode provided by the present invention provides single-cell resolution optical stimulation and in-situ recording through the design of the waveguide and grating; the small size of the device can reduce implant damage, and it has low loss and high Coupling and strong focusing; its high integration is conducive to the realization of multi-channel, high-density nerve stimulation and recording; the use of flexible polymer substrates can reduce the formation of nerve scars and achieve long-term stable work in vivo.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of neuroscience, in particular to an optical device of a flexible implantable nerve photoelectrode and a design and preparation method thereof. Background technique [0002] The photoelectrode is an important part of the application of optogenetic tools. Its function is to introduce light into the brain to regulate neuron activity, and at the same time record the changes of neuron electrical signals under light regulation. It is an implantable neural interface device. With the in-depth application of optogenetic technology in neuroscience research and its exploration in disease treatment, photoelectrodes that cooperate with optogenetic technology have shown a lot of flowers in terms of material selection, device structure, light supply method and integration process. development trend. [0003] Among them, there are two main ways of giving light to the implanted neural photoelectrode, one is to provide light stimulat...

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Problems solved by technology

[0004] There are also two main types of waveguide materials for implantable neural photoelectrodes. One is the optical waveguide based on polymer materials such as SU-8, but the length and width of the waveguide section generally reach 10-20 μm. It leads to larger implant size, increased implant damage, and low device integration is not conducive to the realization of high-density, multi-channel nerve cell stimulation and signal recording; another optical waveguide based on silicon nitride material, its lining The bottom of the device is made of hard material such as a silicon substrate. After the device is implanted, the Young’s modulus of the hard substrate does not match that of the brain tissue, which leads to a large shear when the device is in the body. Stress such as shear force will form a large number of nerve scars around the implant, making it difficult to achieve long-term stable work in the body

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