The use of an intense artificial X-ray source for geophysical and well logging procedures to determine strata formation density, lithology, and composition is desirable over 1-2 Ci level sources of l37 Cs or 60 Co. An accelerator based photon source reduces the radiological handling risk and the considerable expense of down hole loss. In Phase I, North Star Research successfully demonstrated operation of a innovative 200 kV, 400 A (beam current) Nested High Voltage (NHV) accelerator and the production of radiation. Notable characteristics of this device were the small diametric size (10 cm), mass (13.6 kG), and the capability for higher voltage operation (constrained only by the Phase I drive power limitations). North Star proposes to incorporate enhancements in accelerator internal design, drive power optimization, and electron beam control into a package that produces at a minimum 0.663 keV, 100 A beam suitable for intense radiation production and nuclear logging. The embodiment of the proposed NHV resulting from a funded Phase II effort would immediately compete with other logging systems employing l37 Cs.
