The Trion Minilock II reactive ion etcher (RIE) is designed for either isotropic or anisotropic dry etching of compound III-V semiconductors and metals using chlorine and bromine based chemistries (BCl3, Cl2, HBr, SiCl4, CH4, H2, CF4, O2, Ar). It has a compact modular design on a space-saving rollaway platform. Included in the system is an integrated vacuum loadlock to meet all of the safety and equipment needs for the more challenging etch processes that require corrosive chemistries. Also, it can handle processing of multiple sized substrates or pieces up to 8 inches in diameter. A 600 watt 13.56MHz inductively coupled plasma (ICP) generator and a helical groove pump allow for a large process window for many applications. A touchscreen interface with Windows/PC software for the process controller allows easy monitoring of process parameters at all times.