Radiation hardness of silicon detectors: current status

Silicon detectors are used or going to be used as tracking devices in many high energy physics experiments. Therefore they are located close to the interaction point, where the detectors are exposed to very high particle fluxes and ionization doses, especially in future experiments with very high energies and luminosities. Ongoing investigations concerning the radiation damage, started already several years ago, include bulk and surface damage related questions. The two main objectives of these studies are: (1) predict the radiation induced change in the detector parameters expected for any application, and (2) improve the radiation hardness of the detectors. A general overview of the current progress of the radiation hardness studies towards these goals is given here