ABSTRACT
In recent decades, the development of neural prostheses has benefited greatly from technological advances, particularly in the area of greater miniaturization and integration of microelectronics. The development of glass microelectrodes early in the 20th century and the later development of metal wire microelectrodes in the 1950s
gave the neurophysiologist new insights into the operation of the nervous system. As early as the 1960s, it was being proposed that integrated circuit (IC) fabrication techniques could be employed to develop improved devices. By the early 1970s, devices had been fabricated and a design had been published for an implantable monolithic wafer electrode.
