Dr. Rohit Bhargava and graduate student Kevin Yeh have developed a new method and device for infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The invention overcomes current limitations in fourier-transform based IR approaches which suffer from high signal-to-noise ratios and slow data acquisition speed. The invention uses an assembly of quantum cascade lasers, point-scanning, and scanning at discrete wavelengths to increase the speed of data acquisition and reduce scan time. The invention takes advantage of the ability to identify and classify a sample without the need to scan a continuous spectral range and perform Fourier Transformation post-acquisition. The technology could be applied to several industries including the pharmaceutical, environmental, and food industries.