A kinetic model, composed of elementary chemical reactions, is derived to predict the etch rate of crystalline silicon with NF3 in a plasma discharge.Experimental data taken from a radial flow plasma etching reactor is used to determine the model's kinetic parameters.The rate constant for atomic fluorine reacting with <100> silicon was determined to be 1410 cm/min at 25 °C, in good agreement with a value obtained by other investigators.

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Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition of silicon from SiF4/H2/Ar gas mixture is observed on a SiOxNy surface, while under the same plasma conditions, silicon films do not grow on AlOx nor Al surfaces. Transmission electron microscopy confirms that the silicon deposited on SiOxNy has a microcrystalline structure. After the plasma process, fluorine is detected in abundance on the AlOx surface by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray chemical analyses. This suggests that Al-F bonds are formed on this surface, blocking any deposition of silicon on it. In-situ ellipsometry studies show that deposition can be initiated on AlOx surfaces by increasing the temperature of the electrodes or increasing the RF plasma power, leading to a loss of selectivity.