Carbon-nanotube (CNT)-reinforced indium tin oxide (ITO) films have been fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrates by sputter deposition of ITO onto spin-coated multiwalled CNTs. The bending electrical stability of the films was investigated. When bent to a curvature radius of 1.5mm, unreinforced film surface resistance increased by more than 100 times, while the resistance of CNT-reinforced films remained constant. Scanning electron microscopy of the films after bending revealed significant cracking and delamination in the unreinforced ITO films, while the CNT-reinforced films remained substantially intact. These results suggest that CNTs may prevent percolating clusters of defects in films under stress.

c-axis oriented thin films of a heavy fermion compound CeB 6 and Kondo insulator SmB 6 were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. These films consist of small grains, which are random in film planes. Kondo like temperature dependence of the resistivity and antiferro-quadrupolar ordering are observed in CeB 6 thin films. Semiconducting temperature dependence of the resistivity in SmB 6 thin film is in reasonable agreement with that of bulk crystal.