Wilks Enterprise Inc. of South Norwalk, Conn., and Optical Coating Corp. of Natick, Mass., have merged to form Wilks Enterprises Inc. Wilks is a manufacturer of IR filter-based analytical instruments, including application-specific spectrometers and sensors. Optical Coating is a supplier of thin-film-coated optical components ranging from the visible to the far-IR. Both companies will continue to operate at their respective locations. The firms expect the integration of their respective products to lead to the next generation of IR sensors and spectrometers.