BABAR silicon vertex tracker:: Status and prospects

The BABAR Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) has been efficiently operated for six years since the start of data taking in 1999. Due to higher than expected background levels some unforeseen effects have appeared. We discuss: a shift in the pedestal for the channels of the AToM readout chips that are most exposed to radiation; an anomalous increase in the bias leakage current for the modules in the outer layers. Estimates of future radiation doses and occupancies are shown together with the extrapolated detector performance and lifetime, in light of the new observations. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.