Silicon Detector Upgrades in ALICE

The ALICE experiment at LHC explores the properties of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, where quarks and gluons are expected to form a quark-gluon plasma. A core component of ALICE is its Inner Tracking System (ITS), a silicon-based detector optimized for high-precision tracking and vertexing. This seminar will provide an overview of the progressive upgrades of the ITS, starting with ITS2, which introduced monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) to significantly enhance pointing resolution and tracking efficiency. Operational experience from the early years of Run 3 will be reviewed, with a focus on key lessons learned and their relevance for the development of future tracking systems. The current R&D status of ITS3 will also be presented, highlighting the development of curved wafer-scale MAPS sensors designed in 65 nm CMOS technology. This innovative approach aims to reduce the material budget and enhance tracking precision near the interaction point. The seminar will conclude with an overview of the ALICE 3 concept, which focuses on next-generation silicon detector developments designed to enable advanced studies of the quark-gluon plasma while supporting novel investigations in broader areas of QCD and fundamental physics.