4.4 Measurement Platform
The ASN measurement platform was custom designed in CAD and 3D printed
(MakerBot Replicator 2.0). ASN chips sit on the bottom of the platform and are
attached with gold spring-loaded pins. These pins connect the measurement hardware to the outer electrodes of the ASN chip. Measurement hardware consists of a
source measure unit ((National Instruments Model 4141), two data acquisition cards
(National Instruments Model 6368), and a switching module (National Instruments
Model 2532). These units allow for the ability to define each electrode as an input or
output (I/O) signal, specific signals to source, and concurrently record these input
signals as well as record spatially-distributed voltage traces that percolate through
the network. All measurements on the multielectrode array are performed and
recorded simultaneously. Control software for the ASN device was coded in
LabView 2012 (National Instruments). Post analysis work was done in MatLab
2010b (MathWorks).
Fig. 2 Different generations of ASN devices are shown above. Chips include (a) 4 electrode
device, (b) 16 electrode, and (c) 128 electrode ASN. Inner networks of each device are shown on the
bottom row (d–f, scale bars ¼ 100 μm, 1 mm)
Atomic Switch Networks for Neuroarchitectonics: Past, Present, Future
219
The ASN measurement platform was custom designed in CAD and 3D printed
(MakerBot Replicator 2.0). ASN chips sit on the bottom of the platform and are
attached with gold spring-loaded pins. These pins connect the measurement hardware to the outer electrodes of the ASN chip. Measurement hardware consists of a
source measure unit ((National Instruments Model 4141), two data acquisition cards
(National Instruments Model 6368), and a switching module (National Instruments
Model 2532). These units allow for the ability to define each electrode as an input or
output (I/O) signal, specific signals to source, and concurrently record these input
signals as well as record spatially-distributed voltage traces that percolate through
the network. All measurements on the multielectrode array are performed and
recorded simultaneously. Control software for the ASN device was coded in
LabView 2012 (National Instruments). Post analysis work was done in MatLab
2010b (MathWorks).
Fig. 2 Different generations of ASN devices are shown above. Chips include (a) 4 electrode
device, (b) 16 electrode, and (c) 128 electrode ASN. Inner networks of each device are shown on the
bottom row (d–f, scale bars ¼ 100 μm, 1 mm)
Atomic Switch Networks for Neuroarchitectonics: Past, Present, Future
219