NeuroNexus · neuronexus.com · Glossary
Neuropixels Probe
A Neuropixels probe is a CMOS silicon neural probe made by imec, with a switch under each of 960 to 5,120 recording sites and the recording circuit in the probe base, so one probe records 384 channels at once, or 1,536 on the Quad Base version, chosen from those sites.
Neuropixels 1.0 has 960 titanium nitride sites on one 10 mm shank, 70 × 24 µm in cross-section, and records 384 of them in two bands, spikes at 30 kHz and local field potentials at 2.5 kHz, at 10 bits (Jun et al. (2017)). Neuropixels 2.0 places 1,280 sites on one shank or 5,120 on four, records 384 channels in one full band at 30 kHz and 12 bits, and is small enough to carry two probes on one headstage in a mouse (Steinmetz et al. (2021)); the Quad Base version records 1,536 channels at once from its four shanks. Both are sold by imec, with 45 mm versions for non-human primates, acquired through imec's PXIe card or OneBox with SpikeGLX or Open Ephys. Neuropixels probes record only; there is no stimulation path.
NeuroNexus does not make Neuropixels. NeuroNexus offers the equipment and software a Neuropixels rig runs on: XDAQ acquires Neuropixels probes with Kontex's acquisition software through its Open Ephys plugin; the Kontex NP Headstage connects the probe; the Commutator PRO carries up to four Neuropixels ports and a passive probe through one torque-compensated joint, so an animal can be stimulated through a passive array while Neuropixels records; and Radiens has a native Neuropixels probe model, with Videre's live recording monitor reading the recording as it is written, in beta on Neuropixels rigs. The full chain is in Recording Neuropixels on XDAQ.
The other active-pixel probe is SiNAPS, offered by NeuroNexus as the HD Series, which records every one of its 256 or 1,024 sites at once. Dense passive designs, the Buzsáki and polytrode layouts among them, are functionally comparable for some applications and add stimulation on the recording sites. The three are compared, number by number, in Neuropixels, SiNAPS and Silicon Probes: How to Choose. Research use only.
Typical values
| Maker | imec |
|---|---|
| Neuropixels 1.0 | 960 sites, one 10 mm shank, 384 channels at once, 10-bit, AP 30 kHz + LFP 2.5 kHz |
| Neuropixels 2.0 | 1,280 sites (one shank) or 5,120 (four), 384 channels at once, 12-bit, 30 kHz full band |
| Neuropixels 2.0 Quad Base | 5,120 sites on four shanks, 1,536 channels at once |
| Shank | 70 × 24 µm, 10 mm (NHP versions to 45 mm) |
| Site | 12 × 12 µm titanium nitride |
| Stimulation | none; record only |
References
- Jun et al., 2017 — Fully integrated silicon probes for high-density recording of neural activity. Nature 551, 232–236
- Steinmetz et al., 2021 — Neuropixels 2.0: A miniaturized high-density probe for stable, long-term brain recordings. Science 372, eabf4588
- imec — Neuropixels probe data sheets (1.0, 2.0, 2.0 Quad Base)
Related Terms
Cite this term
NeuroNexus. "Neuropixels Probe." NeuroNexus Glossary, updated 2026-10-31. https://www.neuronexus.com/resources/glossary/neuropixels