关键词：纳米流体；传感器；光学工程；光学滤波器
摘 要：Nanofluids are not only valuable for their enhanced thermal properties - a large international research effort has been directed towards developing nanoparticles and nanofluids with tunable optical properties. Optical sensors, optical filters, solar absorbers, lasers, cancer therapies, and a whole suite of other applications can benefit from nanofluids with controlled optical properties. While there are many solid optical components commercially available, flowing fluid-based (both liquids and gases) systems are superior for transient applications. Optical engineering of nanofluids has been made possible by recent advances in fabrication techniques - enabling tight tolerance, highly reliable production of almost any material in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. In the right dose, the addition of well-designed nanoparticles can alter the optical properties of pure fluids (water, oils, and alcohols) from being transparent to bespoke fluids which are highly absorbing, scattering, or a mixture for any portion of the optical spectrum. Metallic nanoparticles, in particular, display the highly selective phenomenon of plasmon resonance which allows them to be utilized to create fluids which can interact strongly with a small band of light. Thus, the development of a new class of nanofluid-based optofluidic devices represents an emerging trans-disciplinary synthesis between nanotechnology, thermofluids, and optics. As a primer to this field and to encourage research activity in this area, this chapter will describe the state-of-the-art and the requisite theory behind this type of technology.