Os sistemas de informação (SI) têm vindo a aumentar a sua criticidade na definição da estratégia empresarial. Se inicialmente eram um meio para a execução da estratégia definida, atualmente, os SI são influenciadores dessa mesma estratégia. A diversidade de soluções, as conformidades, o risco, as capacidades e as disponibilidades exigidas às infraestruturas e às conectividades, bem como a infinidade de valências e conhecimentos exigidos ao capital intelectual, afastam as soluções insourcing. É neste contexto que os gestores veem o outsourcing como um facilitador da transformação dos negócios, principalmente nesta nova era do negócio digital. A opção pelo modelo de gestão em outsourcing envolve a análise de um conjunto de variáveis que irão influenciar a tomada de decisão relativamente à questão make or buy, inclusivamente na área da gestão de projetos, mais direcionada para responder às exigências do modelo de negócio digital. Há fatores de qualidade, velocidade e preço que determinam o tipo de outsourcing, o tipo de serviço a externalizar ou mesmo a metodologia a implementar, no entanto, nesta dissertação, defende-se a existência de fatores ocultos não diretamente relacionados com a busca racional da produtividade e eficácia das funções dos SI e pretendeu-se determinar até que ponto esses fatores serão responsáveis pelas mudanças na condução das empresas.

We studied interface effects of thin film V2O5 electrodes on top of indium tin oxide (ITO) glass for Li intercalation by means of a combination of methods: depth-profiling by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), electrochemical insertion-extraction of lithium ions by slow-scan cyclic voltammetry (SSCV) and by potentiostatic intermittent titration technique (PITT). We show that the Li+ distribution inside the oxide film is always far from homogeneous, and that different diffusion paths (parallel to interfaces as well as perpendicular to them) have to be considered in experiments with electrodes having areas of few cm². The exposed edge formed when cutting out coupons from the coated glass plate supporting the V2O5 electrode plays a significant role in the process, because it exposes the V2O5-ITO interface to the electrolyte.

Indium tin oxide nanoparticles were synthesized in two different sizes by a nonhydrolytic sol-gel method. These powders were then transformed into ITO via an intermediate metastable state at between 300 and 600 ºC. The presence of characteristic O-In-O and O-Sn-O bands at 480 and 670 cm-1 confirmed the formation of ITO. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicated the preferential formation of metastable hexagonal phase ITO (corundum type) as opposed to cubic phase ITO when the reflux time was less than 3 h and the heat treatment temperature was below 600 ºC. Particle morphology and crystal size were examined by scanning electron microscopy.

Tin doped indium oxide thin films were prepared on glass substrates kept at room temperature, by activated reactive evaporation (ARE). Structural, electrical and optical properties were studied for films having different thickness. The resulting films are polycrystalline and show ˜ 90 % transmission in the visible region. Hall effect measurements at room temperature for a film with a nominal thickness of ˜ 350 nm shows a relatively high carrier concentration ˜ 6.3 × 10(20) cm-3, mobility ˜ 16 cm² V-1s-1, with a low resistivity ˜ 1.01×10-3W cm.

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) tablets were used to deposit ITO films on p-GaN layer of light-emitting diodes. Needles and cracks in ITO tablets generated during electron beam evaporation process were deeply investigated. The formation of needles is predominantly resulted from the scanning trace, which is controlled by x and y axes scanning singles. The needles can be eliminated by controlling electron beam scanning trace. The loose microstructure with uniform grains and pores in the ITO tablets results in weak bonding strength, which leads to cracks under the thermal shock of high energy electron beam. A three-dimensional reticulated skeleton structure with strong bonding strength can restrain these cracks.

Polycrystalline ITO films with good optoelectronics characteristics and homogeneous surface has been obtained upon annealing at 550 °C in N² atmosphere using a low-cost chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system. The films were evaluated as pH sensors in separative extended gate field-effect transistor (SEGFET) apparatus, exhibiting a sensitivity of 53 mV/pH, close to the expected Nernstian theoretical value for ion sensitive materials. The use of CVD process to synthesize ITO, as described here, may represent an alternative for fabrication of SEGFET pH sensors at low cost to be used in disposable biosensors since H+ ions are the product of several oxireductase enzymes.

A systematic study about synthesis of In1-xSnxO2 (ITO) nanostructured crystals by microwave-assisted solvothermal method is reported. Different solutions using InCl3.4H2O and SnCl4.5H2O precursors in ethylene glycol solvent were prepared in distinct pHs (acid and basic ones). The syntheses were performed at 200 ºC using a heating rate of 50 ºC min-1 and soaking time of 30 minutes. All the synthesized powders were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement to study the phase evolution as a function of pH. The materials synthesized in the pH ranging between 11.5 and 11.9 were further studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. As ITO materials have many practical applications due to their transparency in the visible spectrum, UV-Vis spectroscopy analysis was performed to obtain the optical band gap and the respective optical window.