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Micro-Wires

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Definition

Microwires consist of a cylindrical conductor with a diameter on the order of micrometers and, generally, have an insulating sheath. They are commonly used for recording of neural signals or electrical stimulation of nervous tissue.

Detailed Description

Microwires can range anywhere from roughly five to a few hundred microns without insulation. They consist of a conductive material such as pure metals (e.g. gold, Tungsten or stainless steel) or metal alloys (e.g. Pt/Ir or Nichrome). Most pure metals have the advantage of being biologically inert, whereas metal alloys are often favored for their lower cost and better physical properties such as higher flexibility and strength. Typical materials used to electrically insulate the wires from their surroundings are Teflon, Parylene, Formvar, Isonel, polyimide or polyurethane. The insulating layer adds at least 3–7 μm to the wire thickness.

Microwires are available on a spool as single wires or multi-stranded wires where two or...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA

    Dr. Almut Branner

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  1. Dr. Almut Branner
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Correspondence to Almut Branner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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Branner, A. (2014). Micro-Wires. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_597-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_597-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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