{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/102952"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/102952","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Silicon processing for microfluidic neuroprobes","abstract":"Neural circuit processing is a poorly understood area of biology, but is critical to the development of novel biotechnologies for neurological disorders and neural networks for machine learning. One approach to overcome this deficiency in knowledge is to treat the brain as a black box that can be reverse engineered when known inputs are applied and measurable outputs are obtained. The most important measure in this system is the concentration profile of neurochemicals as they are the basis of all neural activities. To obtain these measurements in awake subjects, a neuroprobe capable of extracting neuromodulators with high temporal and spatial resolution and high chemical sensitivity and selectivity is needed. In addition, the overall dimensions of the probe must be minimized to limit brain tissue damage. This thesis describes the fabrication process of a novel microfluidic-based neuroprobe capable of obtaining neuromodulators with high spatial and temporal resolution with limited tissue damage. This is achieved through the use of microfluidic channels with dimensions in the range of tens of microns, which is 100 times smaller than channels used today. The probe is made of silicon using standard processing techniques. It is shown that surface microfluidic channels with dimensions of 1.2um wide and 700nm high are capable of being fabricated. Fabrication processes of silicon-based neuroprobes with needles of 55m in width and 15um in height are also discussed in detail. Packaging processes for the neuroprobe with plumbing systems are also developed and described in this work. The silicon processing steps and packaging method described in this thesis will help lead to the completion of the high-performing silicon-based neurochemical probe that will aid in unlocking the mechanisms of neural circuits.","abstract_html":"Neural circuit processing is a poorly understood area of biology, but is critical to the development of novel biotechnologies for neurological disorders and neural networks for machine learning. One approach to overcome this deficiency in knowledge is to treat the brain as a black box that can be reverse engineered when known inputs are applied and measurable outputs are obtained. The most important measure in this system is the concentration profile of neurochemicals as they are the basis of all neural activities. To obtain these measurements in awake subjects, a neuroprobe capable of extracting neuromodulators with high temporal and spatial resolution and high chemical sensitivity and selectivity is needed. In addition, the overall dimensions of the probe must be minimized to limit brain tissue damage. This thesis describes the fabrication process of a novel microfluidic-based neuroprobe capable of obtaining neuromodulators with high spatial and temporal resolution with limited tissue damage. This is achieved through the use of microfluidic channels with dimensions in the range of tens of microns, which is 100 times smaller than channels used today. The probe is made of silicon using standard processing techniques. It is shown that surface microfluidic channels with dimensions of 1.2um wide and 700nm high are capable of being fabricated. Fabrication processes of silicon-based neuroprobes with needles of 55m in width and 15um in height are also discussed in detail. Packaging processes for the neuroprobe with plumbing systems are also developed and described in this work. The silicon processing steps and packaging method described in this thesis will help lead to the completion of the high-performing silicon-based neurochemical probe that will aid in unlocking the mechanisms of neural circuits.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bi, Oscar Sida"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Electrical & Computer Engr","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Vlasov, Yurii"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-02-08T18:44:42Z","date_published":"2019-02-08T18:44:42Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:42Z","subjects":["Silicon Processing","Neuroprobes","Fluidics"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2018 Oscar Sida Bi"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/102952","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Vlasov, Yurii"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bi, Oscar Sida"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2019-02-08T18:44:42Z","2021-02-09T10:15:45Z","2018-12-10","2018-12"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Electrical & Computer Engr"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Silicon Processing","Neuroprobes","Fluidics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2018 Oscar Sida Bi"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/102952"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Neural circuit processing is a poorly understood area of biology, but is critical to the development of novel biotechnologies for neurological disorders and neural networks for machine learning. One approach to overcome this deficiency in knowledge is to treat the brain as a black box that can be reverse engineered when known inputs are applied and measurable outputs are obtained. The most important measure in this system is the concentration profile of neurochemicals as they are the basis of all neural activities. To obtain these measurements in awake subjects, a neuroprobe capable of extracting neuromodulators with high temporal and spatial resolution and high chemical sensitivity and selectivity is needed. In addition, the overall dimensions of the probe must be minimized to limit brain tissue damage. This thesis describes the fabrication process of a novel microfluidic-based neuroprobe capable of obtaining neuromodulators with high spatial and temporal resolution with limited tissue damage. This is achieved through the use of microfluidic channels with dimensions in the range of tens of microns, which is 100 times smaller than channels used today. The probe is made of silicon using standard processing techniques. It is shown that surface microfluidic channels with dimensions of 1.2um wide and 700nm high are capable of being fabricated. Fabrication processes of silicon-based neuroprobes with needles of 55m in width and 15um in height are also discussed in detail. Packaging processes for the neuroprobe with plumbing systems are also developed and described in this work. The silicon processing steps and packaging method described in this thesis will help lead to the completion of the high-performing silicon-based neurochemical probe that will aid in unlocking the mechanisms of neural circuits.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-12-01","The student, Oscar Bi, accepted the attached license on 2018-12-08 at 00:23.","The student, Oscar Bi, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2018-12-08 at 00:36.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2018-12-10 at 07:49.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13263 on 2019-02-08 at 11:41:42","Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-08T18:44:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 BI-THESIS-2018.pdf: 4313537 bytes, checksum: bbe321565b3237e93277fbce504d3be1 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4205 bytes, checksum: de44aa2996592aa3289d791777952f18 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-12-10","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 109980 Lift date: 2021-02-08T18:44:50Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Limited Restriction Lifted for Item 109980 on 2021-02-09T10:15:45Z."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Silicon processing for microfluidic neuroprobes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Vlasov, Yurii"],"dc:creator":["Bi, Oscar Sida"],"dc:date":["2019-02-08T18:44:42Z","2021-02-09T10:15:45Z","2018-12-10","2018-12"],"dc:description":["Neural circuit processing is a poorly understood area of biology, but is critical to the development of novel biotechnologies for neurological disorders and neural networks for machine learning. One approach to overcome this deficiency in knowledge is to treat the brain as a black box that can be reverse engineered when known inputs are applied and measurable outputs are obtained. The most important measure in this system is the concentration profile of neurochemicals as they are the basis of all neural activities. To obtain these measurements in awake subjects, a neuroprobe capable of extracting neuromodulators with high temporal and spatial resolution and high chemical sensitivity and selectivity is needed. In addition, the overall dimensions of the probe must be minimized to limit brain tissue damage. This thesis describes the fabrication process of a novel microfluidic-based neuroprobe capable of obtaining neuromodulators with high spatial and temporal resolution with limited tissue damage. This is achieved through the use of microfluidic channels with dimensions in the range of tens of microns, which is 100 times smaller than channels used today. The probe is made of silicon using standard processing techniques. It is shown that surface microfluidic channels with dimensions of 1.2um wide and 700nm high are capable of being fabricated. Fabrication processes of silicon-based neuroprobes with needles of 55m in width and 15um in height are also discussed in detail. Packaging processes for the neuroprobe with plumbing systems are also developed and described in this work. The silicon processing steps and packaging method described in this thesis will help lead to the completion of the high-performing silicon-based neurochemical probe that will aid in unlocking the mechanisms of neural circuits.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-12-01","The student, Oscar Bi, accepted the attached license on 2018-12-08 at 00:23.","The student, Oscar Bi, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2018-12-08 at 00:36.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2018-12-10 at 07:49.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13263 on 2019-02-08 at 11:41:42","Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-08T18:44:42Z (GMT). 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