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We studied the N2 plasma etching of cubic boron nitride (cBN). We have developed experimental techniques for handling 200-µm-size single crystals for the preparation of surfaces with arbitrary crystal indexes, plasma processes, and surface analyses. We successfully prepared smooth surfaces of cBN with roughness smaller than 10 nm and found that the etching behavior was strongly influenced by the surface indexes. The morphology of the etched surfaces can be explained by the chemical stability of (111)B surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]