Metal Microelectrode Selection Guide

WPI offers an array of metal microelectrodes. In this guide, we will look at introductory assortments, concentric electrodes, profile A, profile B and profile C electrodes. For basic information on these types of metal electrodes, see the Metal Microelectrode Basics page. Links to these related posts appear below this article.

Eligoy Steel is a *Cobalt/chromium/nickel alloy.

Deciphering Part Numbers

With few exceptions, the WPI metal electrodes conform to a part number standard depicted below. For the part number shown, you can determine that:
  • Metal - The electrode is made of platinum iridium. (See the metal codes below.)
  • Length in inches - It is 2" long.
  • Coating Thickness in microns - It has a 3µm coating.
  • Core shaft diameter in millimeters - "B" electrodes with Kapton coating are 0.356mm.(See the core shaft diameter description below.) This code doesn't apply to Elgiloy stainless steel electrodes.
  • Impedance at 1kHz, measured in 0.1MΩ - This electrode has 1.0MΩ nominal impedance.
  • Suffixes - It comes with the Kapton coating and is heat treated.If there are no suffixies, the electrode is parylene only. If it has a B, it is blunt tipped.
Metal codes
 When deciphering the electrode's part number, the following codes are important:
  • Type of metal used in construction
    • IRM - Pure Iridium
    • PTM - Platinum Iridium
    • SSM - Elgiloy/Stainless
    • TM - Tungsten
    • TST - Tungsten (stereo)
  • Core Shaft Diameter in mm (for Tungsten electrodes only)
    • A - 0.127 (with Kapton 0.216)
    • B - 0.254 (with Kapton 0.356)
    • C - 0.085 (with Kaptorn 0.145)
    • E - 0.106 (with Kapton 0.180)
  • Suffixes
    • KT - The KT suffix in the metal electrode part number refers to the Kapton™ cladding (polymide tubing).
    • B - Add the B suffix where blunt electrodes are desired. (For example, an IRM123A10KT ordered as a blunt will be IRM123A10KTB.)
    • H - Add the H suffix where heat treated electrodes are desired. This is only for use on Kapton coated electrodes (KT). (For example, an IRM123A10KT ordered as with heat treatment will be IRM123A10KTH .)
NOTE: ALL METAL MICROELECTRODES ARE AVAILABLE IN CUSTOM LENGTHS, BLUNT OR HEAT TREATED. An extra charge may apply. 
 

For a table with specifications for the various electrodes, see the related posts below.

See Selection