Redfern Integrated Optics Inc. (RIO), a maker of optical transmitters for fiber optic sensing and communications, announced this week it has raised $7.5 million in equity financing. The funding round, which was led by Southern Cross Venture Partners, included investments by Tallwood Venture Capital and Jolimont Capital. In connection with the new equity financing, Larry Marshall, managing director at Southern Cross Venture Partners, joined RIO’s board of directors. RIO said the funds will allow it to target its products to optical sensing markets poised for high growth, such as the energy industry and security applications. The laser series the company released in January is based on its planar external cavity laser technology. RIO said its low phase noise and narrow linewidth are comparable to fiber lasers, while other features such as size, stability and insensitivity to vibration are comparable to semiconductor lasers.RIO said it is showcasing its products and also presenting a paper, "Low Noise Planar External Cavity Laser for Interferometric Fiber Optic Sensors," this week at the 19th Optical Fiber Sensing Conference in Perth, Australia. For more information, visit: www.rio-inc.com