The Waltham-based maker of high-tech laboratory testing equipment has lent several of its forensic testing devices to the hit CBS prime-time shows "CSI" and "CSI: Miami."

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Both shows are whodunnits featuring tech-savvy crime scene investigators as the heroes.

Among the gadgets and gizmos the sleuths use are Thermo Nicolet's Avatar FT-IR spectrometer, Thermo Finnigan's Trace DSQ gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer and Thermo Noran's MicronX XRF - none of which are common household items, but all of which are used in real-life forensic labs around the country.

Last year, "CSI," which spawned this year's "CSI: Miami," featured the Avatar FT-IR spectrometer, manufactured by Thermo Electron subsidiary Thermo Nicolet.

A spectrometer is a sophisticated device used to identify chemical substances by sorting gaseous ions in electric and magnetic fields.

The equipment can help forensic experts identify explosives or link suspects to crime scenes by identifying telling traces of chemicals found on their clothes or skin.

For Thermo Electron workers, seeing their products on TV has been a "morale booster," said Paul Steinberg at Thermo Electron subsidiary Thermo Finnigan.

"We work in a very technologically advanced environment, where it is difficult to explain to outsiders just what we do," Steinberg said. "So to see it on TV gives a sense of pride we never had before.

"We had the good fortune of being prominently featured in the first episode this year (of "CSI: Miami")," Steinberg said.

He recalled a scene in which actress Kim Delaney, who has since left the show, turned to the show's star, David Caruso, and said: "The mass spectrometer never lies."

In one scene, the camera even zoomed in on the Thermo Finnigan logo on the machine, much to Steinberg's delight.

But the "cameo" for Thermo's spectrometer was purely luck and not part of any agreement between the company and CBS, said Deb Cole, art director for "CSI: Miami."

"There are never any promises made," Cole said.

For the most part, Steinberg said, the show portrays the equipment as it would be used by actual forensic experts. "They take certain liberties, but they are pretty realistic," he said.

Cole said: "Every piece of equipment, small or big, is explained to the actors and actresses so we don't have anyone looking like they are an amateur."

Steinberg even dispatched engineers and technicians to the set to train the actors in using the equipment. But he also had a program built in so actors can push a button and get fake results.

The MicronX, which uses a type of optical X-ray for measurement and analysis, will be the latest Thermo Electron device to star on the small screen.

It's scheduled to be used in tonight's episode of "CSI: Miami," helping the police make the connection between a bad guy and a drug lab.

Caption: PROP MASTER: In an episode of CBS-TV's `CSI: Miami,' star David Caruso uses a Thermo Electron device to help solve a grisly crime.