Solving the interconnection problem of flexible multielectrode arrays by use of addressable organic semiconductor stimulator cells

Microimplantable devices like cochlear implants, pain killers, and deep brain stimulators have reached a high degree of reliability and usability for the patient. In contrast to this, implementation of neural stimulators with hundreds or thousands of microelectrodes is still hindered by the interconnection problem between the electrode array and the electronic stimulator device. Particularly when the mechanical flexibility needs to be preserved, interconnection of all electrodes of large 2Darray to a stimulator/recorder device is almost impossible, since a monolithically integrated circuit can only be attached to the electrode array's periphery, using either bumps or bonds. To overcome these limitations, in this contribution an addressable active stimulator cell is proposed, which can be fabricated either with printable long chain organic semiconductors or, as described here, with short chain semiconductors (oligomers) like Pentacene. These flexible semiconductor devices can be interlaced between the electrode rows and columns of arbitrarily sized and shaped 2D multicontact array, thus completely preserving the array's mechanical flexibility.