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Ru thin films were deposited by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition using MethylCyclopentadienylPyrrolylRuthenium (MeCpPy)Ru and N 2 /NH 3 plasma. The growth characteristics have been studied on titanium nitride or tantalum nitride substrates of various thicknesses. On SiO 2 , a large incubation period has been observed, which can be resolved by the use of a metal nitride layer of $ 0.8 nm. The growth characteristics of Ru layers deposited on ultrathin metal nitride layers are similar to those on thick metal nitride substrates despite the fact that the metal nitride layers are not fully closed. Scaled Ru/metal nitride stacks were deposited in narrow lines down to 25 nm width. Thinning of the metal nitride does not impact the conformality of the Ru layer in the narrow lines. For the thinnest lines the Ru deposited on the side wall showed a more granular structure when compared to the bottom of the trench, which is attributed to the plasma directionality during the deposition process.

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A smart wireless DC micro-grid suitable for efficient utilization of energy available from Distributed Renewable Energy Generators (DREGs) is described. This concept is experimentally demonstrated using a 40 W solar photovoltaic (PV) array delivering power to fluorescent lighting; other DC loads such as Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and DC ceiling fans can be easily integrated into the proposed hybrid micro-grid. First-order calculations are presented to show significant energy savings. The proposed architecture is easily scalable to other power levels. It is ideally suited for residential and commercial applications as well as for powering communities that may not have access to a large scale AC grid or to supplement energy usage from renewable energy sources.

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