The ATLAS experiment (The ATLAS Collaboration, ATLAS TDR 11, CERN/LHCC 98-1
3) which is currently under construction at the Large Hardorn Collider (LHC
) at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland) will contain a pixel detector which provide
s three space points per track close to the interaction point of the collid
ing beams. Because of the harsh radiation environment of the LHC the techni
cal realisation of the pixel detector is extremely challenging. All compone
nts of the hybrid pixel detector have to be radiation hard up to a particle
fluence(2) of 10(15) n(eq)/cm(2). This paper reports on the development of
the sensor part of the system. A first prototype has been produced and suc
cessfully tested. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.