High‐Conductivity Stoichiometric Titanium Nitride for Bioelectronics. (2nd February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gablech, Imrich; Migliaccio, Ludovico; Brodský, Jan; Havlíček, Marek; Podešva, Pavel; Hrdý, Radim; Ehlich, Jiří; Gryszel, Maciej; Głowacki, Eric Daniel
• Is Part Of: Advanced Electronic Materials. Volume 9:Number 4(2023)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2023-02-02
• Subjects: bioelectronics -- ion‐beam sputtering -- multielectrode arrays -- titanium nitride; Materials -- Electric properties -- Periodicals; Materials science -- Periodicals; Magnetic materials -- Periodicals; Electronic apparatus and appliances -- Periodicals; 537
• DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202200980
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2199-160X

Abstract

Abstract: Bioelectronic devices such as neural stimulation and recording devices require stable low‐impedance electrode interfaces. Various forms of nitridated titanium are used in biointerface applications due to robustness and biological inertness. In this work, stoichiometric TiN thin films are fabricated using a dual Kaufman ion‐beam source setup, without the necessity of substrate heating. These layers are remarkable compared to established forms of TiN due to high degree of crystallinity and excellent electrical conductivity. How this fabrication method can be extended to produce structured AlN, to yield robust AlN/TiN bilayer micropyramids, is described. These electrodes compare favorably to commercial TiN microelectrodes in the performance metrics important for bioelectronics interfaces: higher conductivity (by an order of magnitude), lower electrochemical impedance, and higher capacitive charge injection with lower faradaicity. These results demonstrate that the Kaufman ion‐beam sputtering method can produce competitive nitride ceramics for bioelectronics applications at low deposition temperatures. Abstract : A reliable method to obtain high‐quality titanium nitride (TiN) thin films for bioelectronics applications is presented, which has advantages like higher conductivity and greater electrochemical passivity.