Upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System

The Inner Tracking System (ITS) is the key ALICE detector for the study of heavy flavour production at LHC. Heavy flavor can be studied via the identification of short-lived hadrons containing heavy quarks which have a mean proper decay length in the order of 100-300 $\mu$m. To accomplish this task, the ITS is composed of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors (two pixel, two drift and two strip) with a radial coverage from 3.9 to 43 cm and a material budget of 1.1% X0 per layer. %In particular, the properties of the two innermost layers define the ITS performance in measuring the displaced vertex of such short-lived particles. In order to enhance the ALICE physics capabilities, and, in particular, the tracking performance for heavy-flavour detection, the possibility of an ITS upgrade has been studied in great detail. It will make use of the spectacular progress made in the field of imaging sensors over the last ten years as well as the possibility to install a smaller radius beampipe. The upgraded detector will have greatly improved features in terms of: the impact parameter resolution, standalone tracking efficiency at low $p_{t}$, momentum resolution and readout capabilities. The Conceptual Design Report, which covers the design and performance requirements, the upgrade options, as well as the necessary R&D efforts, was made public in September 2012. An intensive R&D program has been launched to review the different technological options under consideration. The new detector should be ready to be installed during the long LHC shutdown period scheduled in 2017-2018.