enable information regarding the number, type, distribution and structural arrangement of atoms to be collected. To use these interactions to determine sample composition a technique must be selected along with irradiation conditions and the detection system that will best isolate the radiation of interest providing the desired sensitivity and detection limits. The basic layout of an ion beam apparatus is an accelerator which produces an ion beam that is feed through an evacuated beam-transport tube to a beam handling device. This device isolates the ion species and charge of interest which then are transported through an evacuated beam-transport tube into the target chamber. This chamber is where the refined ion beam will come into contact with the sample and thus the resulting interactions can be observed. The configuration of the ion beam apparatus can be changed and made more complex with the incorporation of additional components. The techniques for ion beam analysis are designed for specific purposes. Some techniques and ion sources are shown in table 1. Detector types and arrangements for ion beam techniques are shown in table 2. Applications Ion beam analysis has found use in a number of variable applications, ranging from biomedical uses to studying ancient artifacts. The popularity of this technique stems from the sensitive data that can be collected without significant distortion to the system on which it is studying. The unparalleled success found in using ion beam analysis has been virtually unchallenged over the past thirty years until very recently with new developing technologies. Even then, the use of ion beam analysis has not faded, and more applications are being found that take advantage of its superior detection capabilities. In an era where older technologies can become obsolete at an instant, ion beam analysis has remained a mainstay and only appears to be growing as researchers are finding greater use for the technique. Biomedical elemental analysis Gold nanoparticles have been recently used as a basis for a count of atomic species, especially with studying the content of cancer cells. Ion beam analysis is a great way to count the amount of atomic species per cell. Scientists have found an effective way to make accurate quantitative data available by using ion beam analysis in conjunction with elastic backscattering spectrometry (EBS). The researchers of a gold nanoparticle study were able to find much greater success using ion beam analysis in comparison to other analytical techniques,