Advances in the development of techniques for the energy and mass analysis of ejected particles, form the basis of their use as surface analytical spectroscopies. Methods such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA), low-energy ion-scattering spectroscopy (ISS), and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) are becoming more widely applicable to problems in the chemical analysis of coatings surfaces and interfaces. In this paper a brief review of instrumentation and theory allows projection of new capabilities for the method. Recent progress in the analysis of homopolymer and multicomponent polymer interfaces is described.