Abstract
This manuscript provides a review of candle-soot nanoparticle (CSNP) composite laser ultrasound transmitters (LUT), and compares and contrasts this technology to other carboncomposite designs. Among many carbon-based composite LUTs, a CSNP composite has shown its advantages of maximum energy conversion and fabrication simplicity for developing highly efficient ultrasound transmitters. This review focuses on the advantages and challenges of the CSNP-composite transmitter in the aspects of nanostructure design, fabrication procedure, and promising applications. Included are a brief description of the basic principles of the laser ultrasound transmitter, a review of general properties of CSNPs, as well as details on the fabrication method, photoacoustic performance, and design factors. A comparison of the CSNP-nanocomposite to other carbon-nanocomposites is provided. Lastly, representative applications of carbon-nanocomposite transmitters and future perspectives on CSNP-composite transmitters are presented.