This paper describes the design and tests of an ultrahigh vacuum apparatus built for the study of particle surface interactions, with emphasis on ion scattering experiments. The system was designed to provide facilities for angle resolved electron spectroscopy, ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). It has provisions for photon spectroscopy and fixed angle time‐of‐flight (TOF) scattering and recoiling spectrometry. Mass selected ion beams in the energy range from a few eV to a few keV can be produced in a continuous or pulsed mode. Two independent, parallel plate tandem electrostatic analyzers, which can rotate around the sample are employed. The angular range spanned is analysis‐type dependent and varies from 0° to 135°. One of the analyzers was designed for low energy secondary electron spectroscopy (0–100 eV) and the other one for ISS and AES measurements in the energy range from a few eV to 5 keV. The system disposes of a Czerny–Turner monochromator for optical spectroscopy in the visible. TOF analysis can be performed for 7° and 38° scattering angles and a flight length of 2.2 m. Alternatively, a large area detector set at 20 cm from the collision center allows TOF and charge fraction measurements over an angular range from 0° to 110°. We describe various tests of the different components of the apparatus and some results of experiments on ion scattering. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.