The BaBar Silicon Vertex Tracker: performance and radiation damage studies☆

The BaBar Silicon Vertex Tracker is a five layers, double sided AC-coupled silicon microstrip detector operating on the PEP-II storage ring at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The performance of the SVT after 4 years of running is described. Results from radiation hardness tests are presented and the implications of the absorbed radiation dose on the SVT lifetime are discussed.