Tunable laser and photocurrents from linear atomic C chains

Abstract

By a tight-binding model, the interaction between linear atomic C chains (LACCs) and short laser pulses was investigated. LACCs were proposed to be used as a medium of laser whose wavelength can be continuously tuned in a range of 321~785 nm. This data should be more accurate than the previous result because pure density functional theory calculation always underestimates the band gap. According to the tight-binding model, the lifetime of conduction band (CB) bottom is about 1.9~2.3 ns. The electrons pumped into the CB will quickly fall to the band bottom in a time of ps due to electron$-$phonon interactions. The above results indicate that LACCs are suitable for laser medium. By {\omega}+ 2{\omega} dichromatic laser pulses, photocurrents can be generated in LACCs, which can be applied as light$-$controlled signals.