The etch characteristics of Si and TiO2 nanostructures for optical devices were investigated using pulse biased inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) with SF6/C4F8/Ar and BCl3/Ar, respectively, and the results were compared with those etched using continuous wave (CW) biased ICP. By using pulse biasing compared to CW biasing in the etching of the line/pillar nanostructures with various aspect ratios, there was a reduction of the aspect ratio dependent etching (ARDE) and therefore, uniform etch depths for nanostructures with different pattern widths, as well as the improvement of the etch profiles without any notching, were obtained not only for silicon nanostructures but also for TiO2 nanostructures. The investigation has determined that the improvement of etch profiles and reduced ARDE effect when using pulse biasing are related to the decreased surface charging caused by neutralization of the surface and the improved radical adsorption (or etch byproduct removal) on the etched surfaces during the pulse-off period for pulse biasing compared to CW biasing.