**1.2 Ion beam technology**

Ion beams are streams of energetically charged particles that are normally deployed and directed to the surfaces of target materials to interact with the material in various ways and modify the properties of such materials or dope with a thin film [5, 6]. Mostly the level of interaction of these beams depends on the energy and composition of the ions on one hand and the properties of the materials being bombarded on the other hand. The directed ions either remove the material (sputtering) or implant it into the material to change its atomic and molecular arrangements and thereby changing its properties [7]. This technology can be classified as one of the oldest in material design, but several new applications are emerging each passing day as a result of the increase in knowledge of the technology and the high demand for its usage by industry players. The evolution of the industrial regime however led to an increased interest in this new technology worldwide.

Although some powerful inventions that resulted in the design of the accelerator took place around the 1930s, the ion beam technology (IBT) was first used by the US space program in the late 1950 and early 1960s [5]. However, commercial use of the technology was in 1970 in the space field and then it led to the evolution of a superior semiconductor industry which has been instrumental in the materials design and manufacturing sector. Even with the introduction of microelectronics, the interest of researchers and scientists in this area has been phenomenal resulting in several sophisticated materials and designs. Not only has it been used in the area of material science and engineering, but advancement in technology has also led to new fields and new areas of application of the technology in the environment, medicine, biology, semiconductor manufacturing, and space explorations among others.
