  We have developed a prototype system for the ILC vertex detector based on
DEPFET pixels. The system operates a 128x64 matrix (with ~35x25 square micron
large pixels) and uses two dedicated microchips, the SWITCHER II chip for
matrix steering and the CURO II chip for readout. The system development has
been driven by the final ILC requirements which above all demand a detector
thinned to 50 micron and a row wise read out with line rates of 20MHz and more.
The targeted noise performance for the DEPFET technology is in the range of
ENC=100 e-. The functionality of the system has been demonstrated using
different radioactive sources in an energy range from 6 to 40keV. In recent
test beam experiments using 6GeV electrons, a signal-to-noise ratio of S/N~120
has been achieved with present sensors being 450 micron thick. For improved
DEPFET systems using 50 micron thin sensors in future, a signal-to-noise of 40
is expected.
