The LHCb vertex locator

LHCb is an experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), dedicated to the study of b-hadron physics. The Vertex Locator (VELO) is a sub-detector which reconstructs primary and secondary vertices, which is of importance for the processes under study. It is a silicon micro-strip detector operated in a harsh radiation environment with demands of high read-out speed and the use of minimal material. In this paper, the LHCb VELO is introduced and the technology choices of the detector are motivated. We report on the present status of the project and one possible upgrade technology is presented.