QinetiQ Group has acquired Redfern Integrated Optics (RIO), a market leading supplier of low noise semi-conductor lasers, with a turnover of $5m in 2013. The acquisition accelerates the development of OptaSense, a QinetiQ subsidiary, providing the business with secure access to the engineering team developing the current and future generations of highly coherent, low noise semi-conductor lasers.

Based in San Francisco, California, RIO is a leading supplier to the sensing industry with over ten years’ experience of delivering world class products to the fibre geophone, LiDAR and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) markets. Backed by a consortium of venture capital funds led by Southern Cross Ventures and Jolimont Capital, RIO was the first company to develop a commercially viable semi-conductor laser with sufficient stability for DAS applications.

Tags: QinetiQ Group