Articles you may be interested inNote: Binding energy scale calibration of electron spectrometers for photoelectron spectroscopy using a single sample Rev. Sci. Instrum. 82, 096107 (2011); 10.1063/1.3642659 Experimental setup for low-energy laser-based angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78, 053905 (2007); A new compact 60 kV Mott polarimeter for spin polarized electron spectroscopy Rev.We show that it is possible to use a multichannel electron detector in a zone plate based photoemission spectromicroscopy in a snap shot mode to reduce the total acquisition time for a given counting time by 50% relative to the standard scanning mode while preserving the feature of the spectra. We describe the result of tests performed at Elettra using its microbeam ͑150 nm͒ together with a 48-channel detector designed for the PHOIBOS 100 analyzer optimized for extremely small x-ray sources. We also give a short summary of the technical features of the detector and describe one possible calibration procedure for its use in the snap shot mode. We show initial results from using this device to perform chemical maps of surfaces at a resolution of 150 nm.