Determine of Attachment Strength of Carbon Nanotube-Carbon Composite Neural Probe Array

Current neural probes have mechanical properties that are very different from neural tissue. After insertion, the probes continue to cause damage due to micromotion. As an alternative, carbon nanotube-carbon composite structures have tunable mechanical properties and therefore would cause less damage. Carbon nanotubes were grown into dense forests on a substrate patterned with an array of catalytic iron spots, then infiltrated with carbon to create high-aspect ratio posts. To measure the attachment strength, the posts are pushed with a platinum wire, increasing the applied force until the post detached. The failure modes of flexure, tensile, and compression (buckling) are measured. The measured attachment strengths range from 131 to 667 MPa.