The name RIE can be slightly misleading. The proper name of this type of etching process should be an ion-assisted etching, since the ions in this etch process are not necessarily reactive.
For example, in many cases argon ions are used to increase ion bombardment. As an inert atom, argon is not chemically reactive at all.
Reactive species in most etching processes are neutral free radicals, which have much higher concentrations than ions in semiconductor etch processing plasmas. This is because the activation energy of ionization is significantly higher than the activation energy of dissociat..........
