Neuropixels 2.0 Quad Base probe
Applications
Neuropixels 2.0 Quad Base
Quad Base keeps the four-shank Neuropixels 2.0 recording geometry while expanding the electronics to 1,536 simultaneous channels. The July 27, 2026 primary manuscript is a preprint, not peer-reviewed evidence. Its affiliations include Johns Hopkins University, HHMI Janelia and imec.
This is distinct hardware from the 384-channel 2.0 alpha probe. It is also not NXT/NP 3.0: equal advertised channel counts do not make the base architecture or channel mapping identical.
Geometry and capacity
| Feature | Source-reported value |
|---|---|
| Shanks / shank length | Four / 10 mm |
| Total physical sites | 5,120 low-impedance titanium-nitride sites |
| Simultaneous channels | 1,536 |
| Assignment per shank | 384 channels selectable from 1,280 sites, per Neuropixels Central |
| Probe-base width | 10.2 mm, compared with 3.5 mm for standard 2.0 in the preprint |
| Headstage | 14 ×18 mm, compared with 10 ×14 mm for standard 2.0 in the preprint |
Two probes supply 3,072 channels in the mouse recording application. That is two probes and eight shanks, not the capacity of one device. Nor are all 5,120 physical sites sampled at once on one probe.
The manufacturer datasheet specifies a 70 × 24 µm shank cross-section, 12 × 12 µm TiN contacts and a two-row layout with 15 µm column pitch and 32 µm row pitch. Its listed package mass is 0.51-0.55 g, not the entire cable/acquisition setup.
Noise and excluded channels
The preprint describes noise and gain as comparable with standard 2.0’s 6.8 µV RMS specification. Its actual Supplementary Figure S1 table reports mean noise of 7.83, 7.88 and 8.03 µV for three Quad Base probes. Figure 1’s measurement band is 300-10,000 Hz. A comparator specification should not replace the measured Quad Base values.
Channels with less than 50% of average gain were excluded from other measurements. Reported low-gain fractions were 0.26%, 0.85% and 0.13% for probes A-C; fractions above 10 µV noise were 2.08%, 1.30% and 2.41%. This is a characterized array with imperfect channels, not an assertion that every channel met identical performance.
Availability and generation boundary
Neuropixels Central’s current technology page says Quad Base has been available for purchase since August 2025. This is a source-reported availability statement, not a verified stock, price or delivery quote.
The same source describes NXT prototypes as 1,536-channel four-shank devices with up to 912 channels mapped to one shank and expected purchase availability in 2027. Its August 2026 access announcement calls NXT the development name and NP 3.0 the planned purchase name. Those mapping and schedule claims belong to NXT, not Quad Base.
The manufacturer labels these probes research-use-only in non-human subjects: not manufactured or approved for human or clinical use. Animal results and availability for purchase do not override that restriction.
Model boundary
No full model is supplied. The manufacturer adds silicon-spacer/metal-cap package dimensions, but those alternatives are not one universal enclosure. Exact site-field origins, full connector geometry and a complete fabrication model remain outside this catalog pass. Existing 2.0 shank reference geometry does not by itself define the larger Quad Base assembly.