UsingtheexampleofthePHELIXhigh-energyshortpulselaserwediscussthetechnicalpreconditionstoinvestigateionaccelerationwithsubmicrometerthicktargets.Weshowhowthetemporalcontrastofthissystemwasimprovedtopreventpre-ionizationofsuchtargetsonthenanosecondtimescale.Furthermoretheinfluenceoftypicalfluctuationsoruncertaintiesoftheon-targetintensityonionaccelerationexperimentsisdiscussed.Wereporthowtheseuncertaintieswerereducedbyimprovingtheassessmentandcontroloftheon-shotintensityandbyoptimizingthepositioningofthetargetintothefocalplane.Finallywereportonexperimentalresultsshowingmaximumprotonenergiesinexcessof85MeVforionaccelerationviathetargetnormalsheathaccelerationmechanismusingtargetthicknessesontheorderofonemicrometer.