Transparent nanofluids with high thermal conductivity for improved convective thermal management of optoelectronic devices.

We report the development of transparent high-thermal-conductivity nanofluids for enhanced flow cooling of solid-state laser crystal rods. The transparent nanofluids were prepared by dispersing citrate-stabilized Au nanoparticles in water and strictly controlling the particle size and loading. The Au nanofluids have shown stable dispersion, high optical transparency at the excitation wavelength of the YAG solid-state laser (808 nm), and 50% increase of thermal conductivity. Experimental measurement and theoretical simulation of circulating flow cooling show that the heat dissipation capacity of the lasering rod could be increased by more than 20% by using the Au nanofluids to replace pure water coolant.Abbreviations: Au: Gold; NP: Nanoparticle; Au NP: Gold nanoparticle; SEM: Scanning electron microscopy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]