SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 17 -- Picarro Inc., a manufacturer of high-performance lasers and laser-based instruments, announced it has raised $15 million in series C financing. The company said the funding will be used to accelerate development of its bioinstrument laser and process control instrumentation lines and will support expansion of its cyan laser product line. Picarro's CEO, Greg Dougherty, said, "We are very pleased with the early design wins and broad-based acceptance of our cyan lasers that we have accomplished in the bioinstruments market. The new funding will help us rapidly expand this product platform to new lasers. We also intend to launch a new line of revolutionary process control instruments based on our proprietary and patented technology in cavity ring-down spectroscopy." Picarro's cyan laser is currently in volume production with a number of bioinstrument manufacturers. The company's core technology is also being used to develop a new family of laser-based instruments that can measure trace levels of contamination or minute changes in the chemical composition of process gases or the environment. These instruments address key problems in the manufacture of next-generation semiconductor devices, emerging standards for diesel combustion engines and process control in petrochemical manufacturing, the company said. The new funding round was lead by Duff, Ackerman & Goodrich LLC, with continued participation by Benchmark Capital, Greylock and Skymoon Ventures. Stanford University provided additional new investment. Picarro also announced that John Cadeddu, managing director of Duff, Ackerman and Goodrich, will join its board of directors. For more information, visit: www.picarro.com