High energy Li ions of multiple charge states (Li + , Li 2+ and Li 3+) were produced in a tandem accelerator from a source of negative ions by a cesium sputtering (SNICS) ion source. The negative ion current of Li ions up to 32 nA was obtained in the preacceleration stage after the inflection magnet and retractable aperture. The current of the high energy ion beam obtained after acceleration and used for RBS spectra measurements was up to 3 nA. The Li target cone production procedure and design are presented in this work. Initial experiments using Li RBS were performed and their results indicate enhanced analytical application capabilities of RBS for an optical coating analysis, compared to the conventional proton RBS.