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Traditionally, spatially-resolved photoluminescence (PL) has been performed using a point-by-point scan mode with both excitation and detection occurring at the same spatial location. But with the availability of high quality detector arrays like CCDs, an imaging mode has become popular for performing spatially-resolved PL. By illuminating the entire area of interest and collecting the data simultaneously from all spatial locations, the measurement efficiency can be greatly improved. However, this new approach has proceeded under the implicit assumption of comparable spatial resolution. We show here that when carrier diffusion is present, the spatial resolution can actually differ substantially between the two modes, with the less efficient scan mode being far superior. We apply both techniques in investigation of defects in a GaAs epilayer – where isolated singlet and doublet dislocations can be identified. A superposition principle is developed for solving the diffusion equation to extract the intrinsic carrier diffusion length, which can be applied to a system with arbitrarily distributed defects. The understanding derived from this work is significant for a broad range of problems in physics and beyond (for instance biology) – whenever the dynamics of generation, diffusion, and annihilation of species can be probed with either measurement mode.

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