Picarro, Inc

Our singular mission is to produce the world's highest performance and easiest to use gas analyzers. With ppt sensitivity to %-level measurements, months or years of calibration-free operation, and a 10-minute set up, this incredibly rare combination of attributes enables our customers to make the highest quality measurements both in the modern lab and in the most remote locations imaginable.

Every possible source of industrial and municipal emissions are subject to increasing regulation either for worker safety, to improve air quality, or as part of larger state, national and international greenhouse gas reduction strategies and protocols. Regardless of whether the customer is an expert scientist who values performance foremost, an engineer who demands quality and uptime from a solution, or a field technician who values simple installation and little maintenance, Picarro analyzers are the emerging standard.

Based on technology originally licensed from Stanford University and further strengthened by 9 additional Picarro patents, our WS-CRDS analyzers offer unprecedented sensitivity, selectivity and stability all in an elegantly simple, turnkey design. All Picarro products are produced through a world-class manufacturing process that ensures rock-solid reliability. Picarro is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Wavelength-Scanned Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)

Applications requiring trace gas analysis include environmental monitoring, emissions monitoring, greener automotive engine development, semiconductor fabs, cleanroom technology, and bio-pharmaceutical process monitoring. All these applications can benefit from a turnkey analyzer that provides real-time speed, high precision and sensitivity to parts per billion and beyond. And, from a practical standpoint, the ideal trace gas analyzer requires minimal or no sample preparation or dilution, and is contained in a rugged, compact platform with low operating costs. Specifically, the latter means no need for a trained technician and, optimally, the capability for remote, unmanned operation.

WS-CRDS is the first trace-gas analysis instrumentation to meet all these needs, and can even provide isotope ratios for environmental and biomedical applications. Just as important, the same Picarro WS-CRDS analyzers can be used as unmanned remote monitors, industrial process sensors, and reference laboratory instruments, greatly simplifying transfer of standards and protocols. And the extraordinary low drift of these instruments means they can operate for months without re-calibration in most applications.

WS-CRDS Advantages

• Superb sensitivity, precision & accuracy with virtually no drift
• Fast, continuous, real time measurements without interference
• Large dynamic range with high linearity
• Field and laboratory deployable with no consumables
• Installed and operational in minutes
• Rugged and insensitive to changes in ambient temperature, pressure or vibration

Find Out More:

• What is WS-CRDS
• Analyzer Performance & Advantages
• Comparison to Other Trace Gas Analyzers
• Technical Addendum

There is an ever increasing urgency to reduce manmade impact on the atmosphere. This involves developing methods of reducing the global emission of greenhouse gases, principally CO2 and CH4, as well as harmful combustion by-products. Just as important, this effort requires the tools to measure efficacy and compliance at carbon sources and sinks as well as to monitor pollution levels at remote locations. Picarro WS-CRDS trace gas analyzers represent the forefront of monitoring technology. These rugged compact instruments provide the ideal combination of accuracy, precision and long-term un-manned operation while being insensitive to contaminants and changing environmental conditions.

• Atmospheric Research
• Carbon/Water Cycle
• Sequestration

Every possible source of air pollution is subject to increasing regulation either for worker safety, to maintain air quality for nearby residents, and/or as part of larger (national and international) pollution reduction strategies and protocols. Ambient air quality and toxics monitoring applications demand instruments capable of continuously monitoring multiple species in real time, often in remote or unattended locations. An instrument's utility is further enhanced if it can be deployed for months in the field without needing calibration or attention to replace consumables. Picarro WS-CRDS trace gas analyzers represent the forefront of monitoring technology. These rugged, compact instruments provide the ideal combination of accuracy, precision and long-term un-manned operation while being insensitive to contaminants and changing environmental conditions.

• Ambient Air Quality
• Stack/Auto Emissions
• Fenceline Monitoring

Measurement instruments deployed in harsh environments for online process monitoring - from refineries and oil rigs to chemical plants - are expected to perform and meet spec across these environmental variations. Further, the measurements they perform must be inherently free from interference due to other ambient species or process constituents since complex mixtures are common in such applications. Picarro WS-CRDS trace gas analyzers represent the forefront of monitoring technology. These rugged, compact instruments provide the ideal combination of accuracy, precision and long-term un-manned operation while being insensitive to contaminants and changing environmental conditions.

• Fuel Cells
• Energy Exploration
• Process Impurity Monitoring
• Catalytic Processes
• Biofuels
• Petrochemical

For trace gas analyzers, semiconductor applications are among the most demanding with regard to instrument sensitivity and stability. Extremely high reliability and uptime are further hurdles instrumentation must demonstrate before being considered for such trace contaminant monitoring within the fab or to qualify feedstock gases. Picarro WS-CRDS trace gas analyzers represent the forefront of monitoring technology. These unbelievably stable, compact instruments provide the ideal combination of accuracy, precision and long-term un-manned operation while being insensitive to contaminants and changing environmental conditions.

• Fab Ambient Monitoring
• Semiconductor Gas Purity

• Ammonia (NH3)
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Ethylene (C2H4)
• Formaldehyde (H2CO)
• Hydrogen Fluoride (HF)
• Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
• Methane (CH4)
• Water (H2O)
• Isotopic Carbon Dioxide (Carbon Isotopes in CO2)
• Isotopic Water (Oxygen Isotopes and Deuterium in H2O)

Picarro's family of gas and isotope analyzers enable a wide variety of small molecules to be analyzed - in fact, many of the analyzers measure multiple gas species, simultaneously, in the same measurement cavity. In addition to the standard analyzers for measuring the gases listed above, our WS-CRDS technology - utilizing near-infrared lasers - enables detection of many other gas species as well, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) oxygen (O2), hydrogen peroxide (H202), acetylene (C2H2), hydrogen chloride (HCL), arsine (AsH3), phosphine (PH3), hydrogen bromide (HBr), and others.