Contents I. Introduction
Neural interfaces are a growing clinical treatment option for a wide variety of medical conditions. These devices, which can be implanted cortically or peripherally, serve as an electrical interface between neural tissue and computers by recoding action potentials or injecting charge into neurons for stimulation [1]. One of the main failure modes of cortical implants is the encapsulation of the recording or stimulating site in fibrous tissue from chronic foreign body response. When devices are implanted, a cascading reaction begins that encases the device, pushing healthy neurons away from the electrode site [2]. One possible solution to mitigate foreign body response is to reduce the size of the electrode cross sectional area [3]. However, a consequence of the decrease of size is the reduction of the electrode geometric surface area as well. In addition to cross sectional area reduction, flexible neural interfaces are another solution to combat foreign body response encapsulation. To resolve this decrease in size, highly conductive thin films can be deposited onto the surface of the electrode sites to increase charge storage and decrease impedance.
