Thorlabs has acquired Coda Devices, a manufacturer of Raman-based products for chemical analysis. The company, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., with a research and production center in Moscow, will be integrated into Thorlabs’ Spectroscopy and Technology Group in Munich, Germany.

Coda Devices’ Raman spectrometers are able to identify the relative concentrations of up to four substances out of a current library of 3600 known signatures in less than 15 seconds, according to the company. The analysis can be performed through any transparent material, which has the benefit of preventing contact with potentially deadly substances, such as fentanyl, and also allows the technology to be used for in-line quality control.

Anatoly Konukhov, CEO of Coda Devices, said, “Thorlabs’ proficiency in the field of optics will boost and drastically enhance the technology developed by the Coda team, increase areas of application, and subsequently expand the market reach of our products.”