Research and development for the LHCb VELO: a silicon microstrip vertex detector

The LHCb experiment is a single arm spectrometer specifically designed to detect b-hadrons. In order to provide accurate vertex information silicon microstrip sensors of unique design have been produced. Their novelty stems from the complex geometry and fabrication techniques. This thesis presents the results from a series of tests on prototypes fabricated by Hamamatsu Photonics Ltd. In particular, attention has been given to a study of the effects that occur due to the introduction of a second layer of metal readout strips.