PhD in microelectronics – Security sensors and countermeasures for detecting physical X-ray attacks

Grenoble INP - Institute of Engineering; France; Sur place; EUR 32 000 - 42 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Grenoble INP - Institute of Engineering invites applications for a PhD position in Electronic Engineering focused on X-ray based physical attacks and hardware security. The project is part of the ANR GALAXI consortium and coordinated by TIMA, with collaboration across LCIS and partner institutes.

The PhD aims to develop robust sensors and countermeasures and to prototype solutions on FPGA. The successful candidate will design and evaluate sensors detecting X-ray exposure and advanced attack

Qualifications

• Master degree or equivalent in Engineering or Electronic Engineering.
• Hands-on experience with digital design and FPGA prototyping (VHDL/Verilog).
• Knowledge of hardware security, fault injection, and side-channel analysis.
• Good level of scientific English.

Responsabilités

• Design and evaluate sensors to detect X-ray exposure and multimodal attacks on devices.
• Prototype countermeasures (masking, redundancy) on FPGA and evaluate robustness.
• Collaborate with partner labs and report findings to the GALAXI project.

Connaissances

Digital design & FPGA prototyping

Hardware security

Electronics basics

Scientific English

Formation

Master’s degree or equivalent

Description du poste

Organisation/Company Grenoble INP - Institute of Engineering Department Engineering Research Field Engineering » Electronic engineering Researcher Profile Other Profession Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 14 Oct 2026 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 22 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Project summary:

X-ray based physical attacks are an emerging threat to secure circuits: they can be carried out remotely, without contact, and above all while the device is powered off, which makes classic software-based detection and alert mechanisms ineffective. The ANR GALAXI project (Global and Local Advanced Attacks through X-Ray Irradiation), coordinated by TIMA and bringing together CEA- Leti, SIMaP, LCIS, LabHC and Mines Saint-Étienne, studies the effects of X-ray attacks on secure circuits, alone or combined with other physical vectors (laser, electromagnetic, thermal, side- channel). LCIS co-leads with TIMA the work package dedicated to detection and countermeasures (WP3), in which this PhD is carried out.

Main goals:

This PhD aims at designing robust sensors and countermeasures against X-ray attacks and multimodal attacks. The work will cover two complementary axes:

(1) designing and evaluating sensors able to detect X-ray exposure and combined attacks, including while the device is powered off, by exploring structures sensitive to total ionizing dose (TID) or to laser (PUF-like structures, leakage sensors), together with mechanisms able to record and report an attack that occurred while the device was powered off, exploitable at restart

(2) evaluating existing countermeasures (masking, hiding, redundancy) against these combined attacks, and designing new countermeasures resistant to transient and permanent effects, prototyped and validated on FPGA.

Where to apply

E-mail [e-mail]

Requirements

Research Field Engineering » Electronic engineering Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Core competencies:

• Digital design and FPGA prototyping (VHDL/Verilog)
• Knowledge of hardware security: physical attacks, fault injection, side-channel analysis
• Basic knowledge of electronics and device physics (semiconductors, MOS devices)
• Good level of scientific English