Apparatus and methods for acquiring a Raman spectral map of a sample including a material species. The apparatus includes: a pulsed illumination source providing pulsed illumination radiation for exciting the sample and producing scattered radiation; a microscope objective focusing the pulsed illumination radiation onto a region of the sample corresponding to a data point of the map, and collecting emitted radiation from the region; a translation stage translating the sample relative to the microscope objective in at least two directions; a spectral filter spectrally filtering the emitted radiation collected by the objective to obtain a filtered portion of radiation corresponding to a characteristic Raman spectral feature of the material species; a detector receiving the filtered portion and providing output electrical pulses indicative thereof; and readout electronics applying a time gate to the output electrical pulses to distinguish detection events corresponding to the Raman scattered radiation from events associated with photoluminescence.