Batch Fabrication of Out-of-Plane, IC-Compatible, Nanoscale-Tip Silicon Neuroprobe Arrays

We developed a batch-fabrication of nanoscale-tip silicon microprobe arrays for use in multipoint nanoscale investigations of cell/neuron in-vivo/in-vitro. Sharpened tips, less than 100nm diameter, can be formed at the tips of out-of-plane three-dimensional silicon microprobe (length >10mum) arrays, by silicon wet etching-based batch-process within only 1-3min, providing precisely controlled tip angles ranging from 15deg to 50deg. The penetration capability of the nanoscale-tip microprobes was demonstrated, using finite element modeling (FEM) simulations and penetration tests with a gelatin as tissue/cell.