The object of our investigation are layered and two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as cuprate and pnictide high-temperature superconductors, superconducting oxide interfaces, like LaAlO3/SrTiO3, disordered superconducting thin films, like NbN and MoGe. Upon variation of the carrier density and/or of the amount of microscopic disorder, all these systems exhibit remarkable phenomena, including a superconductor-to-insulator transition (SIT). Moreover, as a consequence of the competition between superconductivity and other phases (characterized by , e.g., spin or charge order), many of these systems behave somewhat unexpectedly, (self-) organized modulations of the carrier density may emerge and their responses to weak perturbations can be uncommonly sizable, opening the way to their exploitation in device engineering. Indeed, in many of (if not all) these materials, the occurrence of a state with intrinsic electron inhomogeneity is a major issue: In cuprates, this state is characterized by nearly statical charge-density waves (CDWs) and/or dynamical charge-density fluctuations (CDFs). The mechanism for their occurrence and their role in determining the anomalous properties of the metallic phase and in providing the glue for high-temperature superconductivity are crucial issues that will be investigated within our project. In oxide interfaces, transition metals dichalcogenides (TMDs), and disordered thin films, an inhomogeneous, likely rather filamentary, superconducting state arises, with rare regions affecting the electrodynamic, transport and non-equilibrium properties of the system near the SIT. These will be the object of systematic investigation within our project.
