The incorporation of dry etch processes for mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) infrared device fabrication is becoming critical for the infrared community as we advance toward the production of high-density devices. Dry etch processes are cleaner than wet etch processes. In addition, dry etches are highly anisotropic and are capable of producing the small features required by the more advanced device architectures. However, the incorporation of dry etch processes into device fabrication often affects the surface quality, producing roughened surfaces and variations in composition. Consequently, the identification of suitable dry etch processes to produce high quality infrared devices is essential. In this investigation, three different plasma etching tools (reactive ion etching, electron cyclotron resonance, and remote microwave) were used to etch HgCdTe with hydrogen. The hydrogen interaction with HgCdTe at similar etch depths was examined with spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. Variations in surface roughness and composition obtained when etching with the three plasma etching tools are reported and the significance of energetic ions on surface quality is discussed.