CNT and Organic FETs Based Two-Way Transducing of the Neurosignals
R. Sklyar
Verchratskogo st. 15-1, Lviv 79010 Ukraine, sklyar@tsp.lviv.ua
ABSTRACT
A SuFET based neurotransducer (sensor) with
carbon nanotubes (CNT) or PC kind of input circuit for
the nerve and neuron impulse has been designed. A
nanoSuFET with a high-temperature superconducting
channel is introduced into the nerve fibre or brain tissue for
transducing their signals in both directions. Pickup coils are
implanted into an organism in order to obtain the natural
neurosignals from the organs and tissues, also the
artificially excited signals to them. On the bases of
depicted transducer a combined processor for the natural
and artificial information is advanced.
Keywords: neurosignals, SuFET, interface, textile,
processor
1 INTRODUCTION
The recent achievements in nanoelectronics can be
regarded as a further step in the progress of NS
transduction. They give us the possibility to create the most
advanced and universal device on the basis of known micro
systems. Such a sensor/transducer is suitable for picking up
neurosignals (NSs)- nerve and neuronic impulses (Fig. 1)-
and transforming it into recognizable information in the
form of electric voltage, or a concentration of organic or
chemical substances [1]. Moreover, this process can be
executed in reverse. Substances and/or voltages influence
NSs, thereby controling or creating them (NSs).
Fig. 1 Long itudinal sect ion of an axon
showing a few lines of current flow
The advances in nanotechnology are opening the way
to achieving direct electrical contact of nanoelectronic
structures with electrically and electrochemically active
subcellular structures- including ion channels, and
receptors. Interfacing of nerve cells and field-effect
transistors (FETs) is determined by current flow along the
electrical resistance of the cell-chip junction. A spectral
power density of the junction is 5·10-14 V2/Hz and can be
interpreted as Nyquist noise of the cell-chip junction with a
resistance of 3 MOhm by measuring the fluctuations of
extracellular voltage with a low-noise transistor [2]. The
thermal noise allows us to elucidate the properties of cell
adhesion and it sets a thermodynamical limit for the signal-
to-noise ratio of neuroelectronic interfacing.
2 DESIGN OF THE TRANSDUCER
Proceeding from the previously mentioned difficulties,
including superconducting element of the sensor/transducer
into an electric current could be the solution to the problem
[3]. Electronic or ionic currents in conductors or axons
respectively, passing through the superconducting FET’s
(SuFET’s) channel induce the output voltage on its gate
(Fig. 2). The method of combining the bioelectric nature of
NSs with body-temperature pickup coil (PC) and reverse
input of the SuFET device in order to obtain most
advantageous biosensor/transducer was recently advanced
[4] (Fig. 3). The SuFET is used as a zero-resistance
ammeter which converts drain currents into gate voltages.
U out
í
Fig. 2 An organic Su FET
device and its electrodes
Among the variety of the organic FET devices [1] there
are majority of them, mainly modifications of nanoFETs,
which allow simultaneous processing of a number of NSs
directly or from the PC. There are two factors that make
simultaneous processing possible. First of all, the sizes of
nanoFETs and nanoPCs are in the same order as the
transmitting substances of NSs, such as axons and neurons.
Secondly, the crossed-nanowire FET or textile (Fig. 4)
arrays are, in itself, multiinput. The remaining part of FET in the chain in order to transduce the NSs into different
devices are applicable for serial connection to the said physical and chemical quantities and vice versa [5].
mediums. In addition, some of these FETs can be arranged

A PC
i bio
myelin
B
c hannel ‘s i bio R SuFET
nerve
NI
impulse Vout
Vg
° E 0
transmit- °
receiving
Draine
visualization
C °
~
ting unit and memory
ionic unit units Vo u t
currents
gate
C0 °
Gate
SuFET
SFET L
°
axons
° H Source
(Bio)Telemetr y
Cryostat
in vivo following external units
Shie ld
Fig. 1. An SFET based biotransducer and its signal behavior
Fig 3. A neurotransducer as the inclusion of a SuFET device into the nerve fibre:
A- implantation of the whole high-Tc SuFET variant;
B and C- tapping of NSs i bio on the external SuFET by implantable wire contacts.

a) b)

Fig. 4 Technological solutions for textile electronics: a) a ribbon; b) a cylindrical yarn.

for the achievement of a high level of precision and

3 COMBINING OF THE NATURAL AND
ARTIFICIAL PROCESSING ABILITIES
Multiprocessor data fusion is in effect intrinsically
performed by animals and human beings to achieve a more
accurate assessment of the processing environment. The
aim of signal processing by the combined artificial-living
being multiprocessor system is to acquire complete
information, such as a decision or the measurement of
quantity, using a selected set of input data stemming to a
multiprocessor system- digital data are coming to artificial
processor and the rest of information consumes by a neural
system of living being. Thereby, a big amount of available
information is managed using sophisticated data processing
reliability.
3.1 Arrangement of the Combined System
It is possible to substitute the microcomputer in an
object-oriented problem solution scheme by the natural
processing organ- brain or spinal cord. As a result, the
software component will be eliminated and the most
general characterization of the processing problem in one-
coordinate dimensional calculations could be acquired
naturally, according to the feedback reaction on the input
exposure for calibration, error correction, scaling up or
down, range extension, sampling, resolution, etc (see
Appendix).
 Application variety of the novel superconducting,
organic and CNT transducers allows us to design
processors of the biosignals (nerve, neuronic, DNA, etc.)
that transduce them into different quantities, including
electric voltage, density of chemical and biomolecules. On
the other hand, the said NSs can be controlled vice versa by
the applied electrical signals, or bio and chemical mediums
[4].
3.2 Application of a Solid-State
Electromagnetic (Optical) Transistor
The known ferromagnetic materials have a
hysteresis loop. That is why their application do not
possible because of ambiguity of characteristic. The device
for controlling the magnitude of optical flux by the
application of an electromagnetic (EM) field is based on a
ferroelectric (FE) or ferroelectromagnetic (FEM) polarizer
that allows the rotation of the polarizing plane according to
a hysteresis loop [6]. Besides, the controlling possibility of
the known ferromagnetic and FE devices is substantially
restricted by an ambiguous part of a hysteresis. That is why
it is possible only switching of an EM flux between two
stages.
The invented transistor consists of FE or FEM
processing crystal, source of an EM energy, and the
analysing element (Fig. 5). Control of an EM flux or OB
has been carried out by splitting them on two parts: a
passed one through the processing body and reflected part
by this body. An EF or MF is applied by the carbonic
nanotubes (CNT) or polymer nanowires to the crystal
which is rotating a polarization angle of EM flow or OB.
The electrical transport between the contact metal and the
nanotube occurs along the entire nanotube under the contact
electrode. This suggests that the transfer length, which is
defined as the distance required for current to flow into or
out of the contact electrode is thought to be less than 50 nm
[7]. This angle is rotated according to the linear part of a FE
or FEM crystal’s characteristic. The amplified signal is
analysed in the units of a polarization angle. The reflected
part is used as polarization P2(φ) (Fig. 5) for creating the
logical (optical and magnetic) elements “AND”, “OR”, and
“NOT”. This device is switching or amplifying of EM flow
and OB as by magnitude, as well as by an angle of
polarization.
As a result, it will be possible to overcome the said
disadvantages of the known devices, namely: 1) to raise the
fast-action up to the maximal possible- the speed of
spreading an electromagnetic (optical) wave; 2) to reduce
the noise level in an amplified signal at the expense of
using the material with a unique fashion amplifying
(without a hysteresis) performance- without the internal
mechanical transformations; 3) to improve an ease of
manufacture by using of printing nanotechnologies and
expulsion of an additional optical planes or mirrors.
Opt rev
N
P2(φ) +
Opt trans
Ferro-el/magn
Opt in P1(φ)
_ S
Fig. 5 An Electromagnetic Transistor
based on CNT
Exploitation of the parallel input to multiprocessor
allows determination of space and time dynamics of NSs in
the nerve fibre and neurons and also the amplification of
output signal Uout by multiplying the concentration of
molecules according to a number of input NSs. After the
implantation of parallel SuFET(s) or optical transistors, the
averaging or summation of this dynamic among the whole
flow network, nerve fibre or neurons is possible.
REFERENCES
[1] R. Sklyar, “Superconducting Organic and CNT
FETs as a Biochemical Transducer”, ISMCR 2004:
14th International Symposium on Measurement and
Control in Robotics, NASA Johnson Space Center,
Houston, Texas, IEEE (ISMCR), section 24, (13
pages), 2004.
[2] F. Patolsky, B. P. Timko, G. Yu et al., Detection,
Stimulation, and Inhibition of Neuronal Signals
with High-Density Nanowire Transistor Arrays,
Science 313 (2006) 1100–1104.
[3] R.Sklyar, Superconducting Induction Magnetometer,
IEEE Sensors Journal, April 2006, Vol. 6, Iss. 2,
pages 357- 364.
[4] R. Sklyar, Sensors with a Bioelectronic Connection,
IEEE Sensors Journal (Special Issue), May 2007,
Vol. 7, Iss. 5, pp. 835-841.
[5] R. Sklyar, The Microfluidic Sensors of Liquids,
Gases, and Tissues, Journal of Automation, Mobile
Robotics and Intelligent Systems (JAMRIS), 2007,
No. 2, pp. 20-34.
[6] R. Sklyar, Patent UA #76691 "The control method
of the electromagnetic flow intensity and
amplifying elements on its bases”, Bull. 9, 2006.
[7] Yo. Nosho et al., Evidence of Edge Conduction at
Nanotube/Metal Contact in Carbon Nanotube
Devices, Jap. J. of Appl. Phys., vol. 46, 2007, pp.
L474–L476.
 Appendix

A Combined Processor for the Natural and

Artificial Information.
n a t u r a l
jπ µ 0 S eq h ω T (Q G ) f Vout
En = kT / gDS ⋅ γ noise VGS =
eI 0 z c
H Knerv e=
i

[Su(O)FETTr] -1
sensing * Su(O)FETTr
signals
voltage
signal
B ra in, spin. co rd
interface

co mlex output synthesized

input

p ro blem OR AND
solutio n

Proc es s or current
signal
analytical
inform ation [Su(O)FETTr] -1
Su(O)FETTr

j h ω T (Q G ) V out
U ncNo iWs e = n 4 k T / Q Vg = ID K cNW =
2 eI 0 V sup Q + i

a r t i f i c i a l
*
Su(O)FETT r- supercond. (orga nic) field-effect transistor based transduc er