We present the potential use of ion beam techniques such as nuclear reactions, channelling Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and low energy ion scattering in the characterization of the surface and interface of materials thought to be possible substitutes to Si (like SiC, for example) and to SiO2 films (like Al2O3 films, for example) in microelectronic devices. With narrow nuclear reaction resonance profiling the depth distribution of light elements such as Al and 0 in the films can be obtained non-destructively and with subnanometric depth resolution, allowing one to follow the mobility of each species under thermal treatments, for instance. Thinning of an amorphous layer at the surface of single-crystalline samples can be determined using channelling of He+ ions and detection of the scattered light particles. Finally, the use of He+ ions in the 1 keV range allows elemental analysis of the first monolayer at the sample surface. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.