Throughwafer vias up to 100 mum deep were formed in 4H-SiC substrates by inductively coupled plasma etching with SF6/O-2 at a controlled rate of similar to0.6 mum min(-1) and use of Al masks. Selectivities of > 50 for SiC over Al were achieved. Electrical (capacitance-voltage: current-voltage) and chemical (Auger electron spectroscopy) analysis techniques showed that the etching produced only minor changes in reverse breakdown voltage, Schottky barrier height, and near surface stoichiometry of the SiC and had high selectivity over common frontside metallization. The SiC etch rate was a strong function of the incident ion energy during plasma exposure. This process is attractive for power SiC transistors intended for high current, high temperature applications and also for SiC micromachining.