  To date, linear accelerators (linacs) as electron sources used to produce
ionizing radiation for industrial purposes have been limited to less than 100
kW. When the electron beam is used directly, this is sufficient for most
potential applications. However, when the electron beam is used for the
production of photons (x-rays) which are then to be used in an application,
this is not sufficient to compete with other sources of photons (gamma rays
from cobalt-60). This paper will discuss a compact superconducting RF (CSRF)
accelerator system that relies on emerging technologies that will be able to
produce electron beam powers into the 100s of kW with efficiencies much better
than present linacs. The focus is to produce x-ray beams for medical device
sterilization to provide alternatives for the present use of cobalt-60 for this
purpose.
