A white light spectroscopy system includes a super continuum light source having an input light source including semiconductor diodes to generate an input beam having a wavelength shorter than 2.5 microns. The light source includes a cladding-pumped fiber optical amplifier to receive the input beam, and a photonic crystal fiber to receive the amplified optical beam to broaden the spectral width to 100 nm or more forming an output beam in the visible wavelength range. The output beam is pulsed with a repetition rate of 1 Megahertz or higher. The system also includes a lens and/or mirror to receive the output beam, to send the output beam to a scanning stage, and to deliver the received output beam to a sample. A detection system includes dispersive optics and narrow band filters followed by one or more detectors to permit approximately simultaneous measurement of at least two wavelengths from the sample.