Changes in conductivity of InN, In0.5Ga0.5N, and In0.5Al0.5N layers exposed to Ar plasmas under both electron cyclotron resonance and reactive ion etching conditions have been measured as a function of rf power, pressure, and exposure time. The combination of high microwave and high rf powers produces large increases (10-10(4) times) in sheet resistance of the nitrides, but conditions more typical of real etching processes (rf power <150 W) do not change the electrical properties. The nitrides are more resistant to damage introduction than other III-V semiconductors. The removal of damage-related traps occurs with an activation energy of similar to 2.7 eV. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.