SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MAPPING CHEMICAL ELEMENTS IN A SAMPLE

Measurement system and method are presented for determining spatial distribution of chemical elements in a sample. The system comprises a measurement unit and a control system. The measurement unit is adapted to produce primary radiation having spectral characteristic adapted to excite a number M of chemical elements in the sample to induce secondary radiation responses, and generate spectral measured data indicative of intensity of detected responses. The primary radiation interacting with the sample includes a sequence of two or more encoded radiation patterns of the primary radiation, each having its predetermined spatial intensity pattern. The measured spectral data includes a sequence of data pieces, each being modulated by the respective one of the two or more predetermined spatial intensity patterns of the encoded primary radiation and characterized by sparsity in spectral domain with respect to each spectral component of the secondary radiation response.