Vertex detectors: The State of the art and future prospects

We review the current status of vertex detectors (tracking microscopes for the recognition of charm and bottom particle decays). The reasons why silicon has become the dominant detector medium are explained. Energy loss mechanisms are reviewed, as well as the phvsics and technology of semiconductor devices, emohasizing the areas of most relevance for detectors. The r&in design options (microstrips*and p&l devices, both CCD’s and APS’s) are discussed, as well as the issue of radiation damage, which orobablv imolies the need to change to detector media beyond silicon for some v&texing applications. ‘Finally, the evolution of key performance parameters over the past 15 years is reviewed, and an attempt is made to extrapolate to the likely performance of detectors working at the energy frontier ten years from now.