NeuroNexus · neuronexus.com · Glossary
Michigan Probe
The Michigan probe is the planar silicon multisite microelectrode developed at the University of Michigan: recording sites patterned on a thin silicon shank by integrated-circuit methods, so that one insertion records at many known depths at once. NeuroNexus silicon probes descend from it.
Wise, Angell, and Starr reported the first microelectrode made by integrated-circuit methods in 1970 (Wise et al. (1970)), and the Michigan group developed the approach into high-yield multichannel arrays (Najafi et al. (1985)) and planar multisite probes that recorded single units in cortex (Drake et al. (1988)). From 1994 the NIH-funded Center for Neural Communication Technology at Michigan made the probes and distributed them to laboratories worldwide. Kipke, Vetter, Williams, and Hetke reported silicon probes recording spikes in rat cortex for more than six weeks (Kipke et al. (2003)), and Vetter and colleagues reported chronic recordings for up to 127 days (Vetter et al. (2004)).
NeuroNexus spun out of the University of Michigan in 2004, and its founders (Kipke, Vetter, and Hetke) were members of the Michigan probe development team. Over more than 20 years, NeuroNexus has continually improved the probe's components and materials, including the silicon substrate, dielectric (insulating) layers, metal interconnects, electrode sites, and packages, and has developed hundreds of purpose-driven designs. The lineage is told in A Brief History of Electrode Technology; what NeuroNexus has changed since is in NeuroNexus Probe Technology: Questions and Answers.
Typical values
| First silicon microelectrode | Wise, Angell & Starr, 1970 |
|---|---|
| Planar multisite probes in cortex | Drake et al., 1988 |
| Chronic performance reported | Kipke et al., 2003; Vetter et al., 2004 |
| NeuroNexus spin-out | 2004 |
References
- Wise, Angell & Starr, 1970 — An integrated-circuit approach to extracellular microelectrodes. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 17(3), 238–247
- Najafi, Wise & Mochizuki, 1985 — A high-yield IC-compatible multichannel recording array. IEEE Trans Electron Devices 32(7), 1206–1211
- Drake et al., 1988 — Performance of planar multisite microprobes in recording extracellular single-unit intracortical activity. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 35(9), 719–732
- Kipke, Vetter, Williams & Hetke, 2003 — Silicon-substrate intracortical microelectrode arrays for long-term recording of neuronal spike activity in cerebral cortex. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 11(2), 151–155
- Vetter et al., 2004 — Chronic neural recording using silicon-substrate microelectrode arrays implanted in cerebral cortex. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 51(6), 896–904
Related Terms
Cite this term
NeuroNexus. "Michigan Probe." NeuroNexus Glossary, updated 2026-10-27. https://www.neuronexus.com/resources/glossary/michigan-probe