Compact voltage and current stimulation buffer for high-density microelectrode arrays

We report on a compact (0.02 mm2) buffer for both voltage and current stimulation of electrogenic cells on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor microelectrode array. In voltage mode, the circuit is a high-current class-AB voltage follower, based on a local common-mode feedback (LCMFB) amplifier. In current mode, the circuit is a current conveyor of type II, using the same LCMFB amplifier with cascode stages to increase the gain. The circuit shows good linearity in the 0.5-3.5 V input range and has extensively been used for stimulation of neuronal cultures. © 2010 IEEE.