A CMOS BD-BCI: Neural Recorder with Two-Step Time-Domain Quantizer and Multi-Polar Stimulator with Dual-Mode Charge Balancing.

This work presents a bi-directional brain-computer interface (BD-BCI) including a high-dynamic-range (HDR) two-step time-domain neural acquisition (TTNA) system and a high-voltage (HV) multipolar neural stimulation system incorporating dual-mode time-based charge balancing (DTCB) technique. The proposed TTNA includes four independent recording modules that can sense microvolt neural signals while tolerating large stimulation artifacts. In addition, it exhibits an integrated input-referred noise of 2.3 µVrms from 0.1- to 250-Hz and can handle a linear input-signal swing of up to 340 mVPP. The multipolar stimulator is composed of four standalone stimulators each with a maximum current of up to 14 mA (±20-V of voltage compliance) and 8-bit resolution. An inter-channel interference cancellation circuitry is introduced to preserve the accuracy and effectiveness of the DTCB method in the multipolar-stimulation configuration. Fabricated in an HV 180-nm CMOS technology, the BD-BCI chipset undergoes extensive in-vitro and in-vivo evaluations. The recording system achieves a measured SNDR, SFDR, and CMRR of 84.8 dB, 89.6 dB, and >105 dB, respectively. The measurement results verify that the stimulation system is capable of performing high-precision charge balancing with ±2 mV and ±7.5 mV accuracy in the interpulse-bounded time-based charge balancing (TCB) and artifactless TCB modes, respectively.

A Fully-Integrated 1µW/Channel Dual-Mode Neural Data Acquisition System for Implantable Brain-Machine Interfaces.

This paper presents an ultra-low power mixed-signal neural data acquisition (MSN-DAQ) system that enables a novel low-power hybrid-domain neural decoding architecture for implantable brain-machine interfaces with high channel count. Implemented in 180nm CMOS technology, the 32-channel custom chip operates at 1V supply voltage and achieves excellent performance including 1.07µW/channel, 2.37/5.62 NEF/PEF and 88dB common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) with significant back-end power-saving advantage compared to prior works. The fabricated prototype was further evaluated with in vivo human tests at bedside, and its performance closely follows that of a commercial recording system.