Picarro Isotope Analyzers

  • Superb sensitivity, precision, accuracy
  • Fast, continuous, real time measurements
  • Interference free
  • Extraordinarily low drift
  • Field and laboratory deployable
  • No consumables for lowest cost of ownership
  • Installed and operational in minutes

High-resolution spectrum taken by Picarro Isotopic Water Vapor Analyzer. This region of the spectrum contains all of the relevant water isotopologues.

CO2 spectrum taken by CRDS analyzer showing the extremely high measurement resolution (0.0001 cm-1) used in analyzers designed to measure isotopic ratios of carbon in CO2.

Picarro Isotopic CO2 Analyzer Details

Picarro Isotopic Water Vapor Analyzer Details

In response to the need for better instrumentation for simplified isotopic ratio measurements, Picarro has announced the release of two new isotopic analyzers, based on the company's core technology, Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS). These new field and laboratory deployable, real-time ambient gas monitors measure isotopic ratios in CO2 and in water vapor as well as total CO2 and H2O concentration with parts-per-billion sensitivity.

Isotopic ratio measurements have long been used for gas fingerprinting in applications such as energy exploration, ecological carbon and water cycle studies and in environmental monitoring. These new analyzers enable such analysis to be done in situ and in real time with performance rivaling that of large, currently laboratory-based IR-MS systems. Moreover, these new analyzers are only a fraction of the size of competing IR-MS systems and their total cost of ownership is a fraction of that of such IR-MS systems.

The analyzers are designed to maintain high linearity, precision, and accuracy for many months with minimal calibration, over changing environmental conditions, requiring little or no sample preparation and no costly consumables. These unique benefits differentiate the analyzers and are of immense value for both field and laboratory-based deployment. Compared to competing technologies, maintenance and ownership costs are dramatically reduced.

The ultra-high accuracy and low drift afforded by an all-optical CRDS solution makes them ideally suited to the demands inherent to real-time, in situ isotopic ratio measurements. The unique capabilities of the underlying CRDS analyzers are complemented by a robust design, including meticulous temperature and pressure control and a high-precision wavelength monitor assuring immunity from interfering gases. This inline wavelength monitor enables the analyzers to set their laser wavelength precisely, thereby maximizing the instruments' selectivity. With this level of wavelength control, isolation of individual spectral features is possible, enabling accuracy without intra-species interference, and eliminating one of the key underlying causes for most other spectroscopic instruments to require recalibration. The analyzers can therefore make detailed spectral scans that cannot be done using NDIR, for example. The extremely high spectral resolution of the analyzers is evident - and necessary - enabling them to discriminate between closely-spaced spectral lines arising from different isotopic compositions in the sample gas.

The analyzers are based on the company's exclusive implementation of cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) technology, originally developed at Stanford University and licensed in 1999 to Picarro, where it has been further developed and commercialized.

So how do Picarro trace gas analyzers measure up? Second to none, according to many of the world's leading atmospheric scientists. Featuring a superior patented technology, the analyzers measure single spectral features in a compact flow cell with an effective path length of up to 12 kilometers. But perhaps best of all, Picarro analyzers are practically maintenance and drift free, require no consumables, set up in minutes, and are easily field deployable, enabling you to focus on your measurement instead of your measurement tools.

Discover what Picarro CRDS analyzers can mean for you.