Sensor
arrays used to detect electrophysiological signals from
the brain are paramount in neuroscience. However, the number of sensors
that can be interfaced with macroscopic data acquisition systems currently
limits their bandwidth. This bottleneck originates in the fact that,
typically, sensors are addressed individually, requiring a connection
for each of them. Herein, we present the concept of frequency-division
multiplexing (FDM) of neural signals by graphene sensors. We demonstrate
the high performance of graphene transistors as mixers to perform
amplitude modulation (AM) of neural signals in situ, which is used to transmit multiple signals through a shared metal
line. This technology eliminates the need for switches, remarkably
simplifying the technical complexity of state-of-the-art multiplexed
neural probes. Besides, the scalability of FDM graphene neural probes
has been thoroughly evaluated and their sensitivity demonstrated in vivo. Using this technology, we envision a new generation
of high-count conformal neural probes for high bandwidth brain machine
interfaces.
An increasing demand for power electronic devices able to be operative in harsh radiation environments is now taking place. Specifically, in High Energy Physics experiments the required power devices are expected to withstand very high radiation levels which are normally too hard for most of the available commercial solutions. In this context, a new vertical junction field effect transistor (JFET) has been designed and fabricated at the Instituto de Microelectrónica de Barcelona, Centro Nacional de Microelectrónica (IMB-CNM, CSIC). The new silicon V-JFET devices draw upon a deep-trenched technology to achieve volume conduction and low switch-off voltage, together with a moderately high voltage capability. The first batches of V-JFET prototypes have been already fabricated at the IMB-CNM clean room, and several aspects of their design, fabrication and the outcome of their characterization are summarized and discussed in this paper. Radiation hardness of the fabricated transistors have been tested both with gamma and neutron irradiations, and the results are also included in the contribution.
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