Three-dimensional (3D) silicon detectors offer advantages over standard planar devices as more radiation hard sensors. These detectors and their applications in the upgrades of the LHC experiments are discussed. 3D detectors with a double-sided geometry have been fabricated as very short strip detectors with similar inter-column spacing as proposed for the ATLAS pixel detector and LHCb vertex locator upgrades. The detectors have been irradiated up to a fluence of 2 x 10(16) cm(-1) 1 MeV equivalent neutrons, which is twice the expected dose of the inner pixel layer of the ATLAS detector and of the upgraded LHCb vertex locator for LHC high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC) operation. Electrical measurements show a lateral depletion voltage of only 4 V for the device before irradiation which increases to 200 V after an irradiation to a fluence of 1 x 10(16) cm(-2) 1 MeV equivalent neutrons. The strip isolation of the p-type detectors was robust to the maximum fluence. Charge collection studies have been performed with analogue readout with 25 ns shaping time, as required for LHC experiments. The response of the detectors to high energy electrons from a Sr-90 source and a collimated pulsed laser light source are shown and compared with planar devices. The 3D detector, operated at no more than 350 V, is shown to have superior charge collection characteristics to planar devices for all the fluence range expected at HL-LHC even when compared to planar devices operating at 1000 V. When operated at a bias voltage of 350 V the 3D detector collects 2.8 times more charge than a p-type planar device operated at 1000 V after a fluence of 10(16) cm(-2) 1 MeV equivalent neutrons. Charge multiplication in 3D detectors is also reported, in both Sr-90 and laser tests, which leads to further enhancement in the charge collection and signal-to-noise ratio of the detector. The effect is demonstrated, through laser tests, to occur close to the junction electrode.