Ion-beam technology provides a unique and exciting way of modifying the near-surface region of a solid; controlling its surface properties, adding beneficial impurities in the near-surface region, modifying the crystallinity, and providing a control and specificity that exceeds almost all other methods of surface modification. Ion-beam science and engineering have already made extraordinary impacts in current silicon technology for communications, surface hardening for structural improvements and materials modification to create solids with new properties. In addition, ion-beam science has emerged as one of the principal ways of quantifying surfaces, through a subfield known as ion-beam analysis. This background and accomplishment, and the use of these analytical tools, now comprise the underpinning for ion-beam technology to reach out in new and innovative ways to a broader array of materials, to the important nanoscience domain and to new fields of endeavor such as geology and art forensics.
Reference
Wiki - Ion Implantation
HZDR Innovation
Nano-dunes with the ion beam