imec NEUROPIXELS 1.0 User Manual page 12

The probe ASIC is packaged (glued and wire-bonded) on a flexible polyimide printed circuit board
populated with several SMD components (Figure 3). The components include passives for biasing and
decoupling, an IC generating a low-noise reference voltage, and an EEPROM for probe identification.
There are multiple input pads for external reference (REF) and ground (GND) on the flex base and along
the narrow side arms of the flex cable (Figure 4). These side arms can be cut to length or completely
removed when not used.
NOTE: Please be careful when cutting the narrow side arms of the flex. Use a pair of fine, pointed
scissors. Avoid any damage to the wider middle section of the flex since this can render the probe non-
functional.
Each probe has a unique identifier code stored on the EEPROM and written on the small label attached
to the ZIF area (Figure 5). The acquisition software packages described in Section 2.4.1 automatically
read the probe ID stored on the EEPROM.
Figure 3: Top left: Bare die of the Neuropixels probe ASIC. Bottom left: Two SEM images of the probe tip with
marked electrode pitch and exposed materials. Right: Packaged probe ASIC with silicon spacer covering the
probe base. The SMD components are assembled on the flex base.
NEUROPIXELS 1.0 USER MANUAL V1.0.5
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