THE ZEUS MICRO VERTEX DETECTOR

For the luminosity upgrade at the HERA ep collider, the ZEUS experiment has designed, constructed and recently installed a Silicon Microvertex Detector. The design of the detector and the performance of prototypes are discussed. The readout chain, the adopted online and control solutions as well as the integration within the existing trigger and acquisition systems of the experiment are presented. Tests with the full detector prior to installation and the first experience using cosmic rays in the final environment are reported.