Largely deformable surface electrode based on PDMS for cortical recording and stimulation

This paper describes a largely deformable surface electrode based on poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate, including its fabrication, electrochemical characterization, adhesion test, and bending test results. The fabricated electrode is made of both PDMS and parylene C layers, which are completely attached to each other. Between the two parylene layers gold patterns are located in the mechanical neutral plane. In the fabrication process, PDMS is supported by parylene layer when the metal layer is sputter deposited, resulting in no cracks. The electrode provides highly deformable neural electrode structure with mechanical integrity and electrical stability. With these advantages, it is expected to be suitable in stable neural recording and stimulation.