Recent advances in the interpretation of optical emission spectra from plasmas have made it possible to measure parameters such as electron temperature (Te), relative electron density, and gas temperature (Tg) with this nonintrusive technique. Here we discuss the application of trace rare gas optical emission spectroscopy (TRG-OES), optical actinometry, and N2 rotational spectroscopy to determine Te, relative electron density, fluorine atom concentration, and Tg for fluorocarbon/Ar plasmas in an inductively coupled reactor. Various etch processes, containing mixtures of a carrier gas, C2F6, and C4F8, were evaluated as a function of pressure and flowrate. Ar, Kr, and Ne were used individually or were mixed to comprise the carrier gas. In the case of TRG-OES and optical emission actinometry, a mixture containing equal parts of He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe (∼1% ea.) was added. A method for correcting excitation cross sections is introduced for cases when radiation trapping affects the emission of a rare gas (Ar) that is present at high concentrations. Experiments revealed that Te can be controlled through the choice of carrier gas: Ne tends to increase Te and Kr tends to decrease Te relative to Ar. This phenomenon was verified qualitatively with a simple zero-dimensional energy balance model. Additional measurements revealed that the absolute atomic fluorine concentration, determined from calibrated F-to-Ar actinometry ratios, is roughly 20% of the total gas at 5 mTorr, and decreases to 5% at 60 mTorr. The gas temperature in the Ar-carrier plasma was measured to be ∼1200 K and was found to be insensitive to pressure whereas Tg in Kr and Ne carrier gas plasmas increased from 1500–1900 K and 700–1500 K, respectively between 5 and 30 mTorr.