The etching of the complete Bell contact consisting of a layer of Ti/Pt/Au was performed in highly reactive plasmas containing Cl 2 for Ti, PF 3 =NF 3 for Pt, and Cl 2 and/or BCl 3 for Au. All the constituents of the Bell contact form volatile compounds in either capacitively-coupled low-density plasmas or high-density plasmas generated by electron cyclotron resonance. This is conditio sine qua non for surfaces and sidewalls which have to remain free of any residues. r