A chemical vapor deposition growth study to grow 700+ um Carbon Nanotube-based neural probes.*

A new approach to neural probe arrays using Carbon Nanotube (CNT) Templated Microfabrication produces probes that would be smaller and more compliant than existing technologies. Tall probes on the order of one to two mm are essential to effectively communicate with the brain. My research has involved a CVD CNT growth study to ensure consistently tall probes. I used a fractional factorial method and a SAS program called JMP to test the effects of four different factors on CNT growth height. Over a 100+ man hours, I tested the effect of gas flow rate, Fe catalyst thickness, H2/C2H4 ratio, and temperature on CNT forest height. By statistical analysis, we determined that gas flow rate and Fe thickness have the largest effect on CNT forest growth. We are now able to consistently grow neural probe samples at 700 um and higher, which are sufficient for our needs at this time.