PhD Position Experimental Physics - Advanced Detector Development Spectral Photon-Counting CT

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Develop an ultrafast X‑ray photon‑counting detector for “color” CT imaging in medical and industrial applications. Contribute to making the next‑generation CT more precise, accessible and affordable. Join our open‑minded, international and collaborative research team.

Photon‑counting computed tomography (PCCT) represents the next leap in (medical) X‑ray CT. It delivers images with astonishing contrast and resolution, while lowering the X‑ray dose received by the patient. Moreover, the spectral capabilities of PCCT (also called “color” CT) enable quantitative imaging functions, such as measuring tissue composition or the concentration of contrast agents. Unfortunately, widespread use of PCCT is still limited by the high cost of current X‑ray photon‑counting detectors.

You will work within the EU‑funded QuPIX project, which aims to unlock the full potential of color CT by developing and validating a novel X‑ray photon‑counting detector based on quantum‑enhanced perovskite scintillators and silicon photomultipliers. As a PhD student within the section Medical Physics & Technology (MP&T) at TU Delft, you will design, build, test, and optimise detector prototypes and demonstrate proof‑of‑concept performance.

Your project spans the full experimental chain: prototype design, instrumentation development, experimental characterization, data acquisition, digital signal processing, troubleshooting, and theoretical modelling. During these activities, you will work closely with our technical support staff, such as electrical and mechanical engineers. The focus is on hardware development (not medical image reconstruction or processing).

You will be part of the Medical Physics & Technology section in the Radiation Science & Technology department of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at TU Delft. We value quality in research and education as much as we value an open, safe and inclusive working environment. Our mission is to develop better technologies for the personalised diagnosis and treatment of disease, focusing on radiation‑based approaches in medical imaging, radiation oncology and image‑guided interventions.

We execute this project as the Coordinator of the EIC Pathfinder Open project QuPIX. As a PhD student and participant in the QuPIX consortium, you will get a unique opportunity to collaborate with academic and industrial partners across Europe and contribute to a detector technology with the potential to revolutionise CT imaging worldwide.

• You hold an MSc degree in Physics, Applied Physics or a closely related discipline.
• You demonstrate hands‑on experimental experience across multiple stages, such as design, building, measurement, troubleshooting and data analysis.
• You show creativity and enthusiasm to push the limits in imaging instrumentation.
• Your previous experience may be in a field different from CT imaging, but you have a clear affinity with topics such as experimental physics, instrumentation development, ionising radiation physics, radiation detection, optics, electronics, data acquisition and signal processing.
• You are motivated to publish scientific results, collaborate internationally and complete a doctoral dissertation.
• You are specifically interested in developing imaging hardware and detector technology rather than image reconstruction or processing.
• You work proactively and independently, while contributing positively to an inclusive and collaborative research environment.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4‑year period of employment in principle, but in the form of two employment contracts. An initial 1.5‑year contract with an official go/no‑go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from €3 059–€3 881 gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a full‑time contract of 38 hours, plus 8 % holiday allowance and an end‑of‑year bonus of 8.3 %. As a PhD candidate…