Scaling Effects on the Electrochemical Performance of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT), Au, and Pt for Electrocorticography Recording

Abstract

Reduced contact size would permit higher resolution cortical recordings, but the effects of diameter on crucial recording and stimulation properties are poorly understood. Here, the first systematic study of scaling effects on the electrochemical properties of metallic Pt and Au and organic poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes is presented. PEDOT:PSS exhibits better faradaic charge transfer and capacitive charge coupling than metal electrodes, and these characteristics lead to improved electrochemical performance and reduced noise at smaller electrode diameters. PEDOT:PSS coating reduces the impedances of metallic electrodes by up to 18x for diameters <200 µm, but has no effect for millimeter scale contacts due to the dominance of series resistances. Therefore, the performance gains are especially significant at smaller diameters and lower frequencies essential for recording cognitive and pathological activities. Additionally, the overall reduced noise of the PEDOT:PSS electrodes enables a lower noise floor for recording action potentials. These results permit quantitative optimization of contact material and diameter for different electrocorticography applications.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 08, 2017
Source ID
10.1002/adfm.201703018

Entities

People

  • Ahmed T. Elthakeb
  • Atsunori Tanaka
  • Eric Halgren
  • Mehran Ganji
  • Shadi A Dayeh
  • Vikash Gilja

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Readers

  • Electrochemical Surface Science
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Vision Science/Vision Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience.