Master of Sciences, Master of Sciences in Engineering, Master in Nuclear Engineering, Master in Materials Engineering, or an equivalent master degree. The candidate preferably has a background in Chemistry, Physics and Materials.
The candidate will have to pass the selection campaign of the Scientific Council of SCK-CEN, by an oral defense of the research theme on May 21 or 22, 2026.
Before applying, please consult the SCK CEN guidelines for application for PhD.
Deadline for application: March 31, 2026
Notification for oral interviews (if selected): May 4, 2026
Oral presentations: May 21 and 22, 2026
Notification of final decision: June 15, 2026
Start at SCK CEN: October 1, 2026
The future ISOL@MYRRHA will be able to produce different radioactive isotopes for applications in the field of nuclear physics, condensed-matter physics, biology, nuclear medicine and others. The used Isotope Separation On-Line (ISOL) technique relies on a series of successive steps starting with the irradiation of a target material by a proton beam where the impact of the protons induces nuclear reactions through which the radioisotopes are produced. During irradiation, these radioisotopes have to be released from the target, by keeping it at temperatures in the range of ~2000°C in vacuum. When produced in the bulk of the material, the isotopes have to diffuse out of the target material grains and effuse throughout its interconnected pore network to escape from the target. After that, the isotopes are directed towards an ion source where they are selectively ionized, extracted and accelerated towards an electromagnetic mass separator for further purification before being delivered to the end-users as a so-called Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB). Successful operating facilities, like ISOLDE at CERN and ISAC at TRIUMF, can produce up to about 1000 different RIBs from up to 75 chemical elements.
This project focuses on the target release efficiency, one of the most important and most limiting steps of an ISOL facility. This is normally worked out through carefully selecting the target material compound (e.g. oxide, carbide or metal form) and engineer a microstructure which contains an interconnected pore network. Additionally, this microstructure must be stable under proton beam irradiation and high ISOL operation temperatures (up to 2000°C), where target material degradation (i.e. through sintering) brings RIB yield reduction over time. Actinide oxides are suggested as one of the first target materials for the ISOL@MYRRHA operation, although they have been discarded in the past for ISOL operation due to their high sintering rates. In this work, actinide oxide materials with open porous structures with small grain sizes will be attempted to be stabilized at the highest possible temperature and tested for release by irradiation with a proton beam in an external facility.
The researcher will be active in the expert group on Physics and Target Research at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN) in Mol.The daily supervision of the PhD will be done by SCK CEN Mentor Dr. Fernandes Pinto Ramos João Pedro (joao.pedro.ramos@sckcen.be) and SCK CEN Co-mentor Dr. Beatriz Acevedo Muñoz (beatriz.acevedo.munoz@sckcen.be). The University promotor will be Prof. dr. ir. Jozef Vleugels (jozef.vleugels@kuleuven.be) from the Department of Materials Engineering of KU Leuven.
Ph.D. fellowship for the duration of a maximum of 4 years. The candidate will obtain a Ph.D. in Engineering Science - Materials Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of KU Leuven.