An apparatus for inspection of a semiconductor workpiece sample, the apparatus comprising: a light source that produces an illumination beam, the light source comprising at least one narrow band illumination source; an optical system that receives the illumination beam and produces an illumination spot on a surface of the sample, the illumination spot having a power density to excite photoluminescence in the sample, wherein all wavelengths in the illumination beam from the at least one narrow band illumination source are simultaneously combined in the illumination spot; a scanning system (118, 120) arranged in the illumination beam between the optical system and the sample that scans the illumination spot across a width of the sample to form an illumination line across the width of the sample, wherein the scanning system scans the illumination beam in a plane that is at a non-normal angle (α1) of incidence on the sample, and wherein the sample emits photoluminescence light in response to excitation caused by the illumination spot along the illumination line; a stage for providing relative movement between the illumination line and the sample; a detector including optics, a spectrometer, and a sensor that includes a two-dimensional sensor array, the detector imaging the photoluminescence light emitted along the illumination line on the two-dimensional array with a first dimension representing spatial information corresponding to a position along the illumination line and a second dimension representing spectral information of the photoluminescence light, wherein the detector produces an image frame representing the photoluminescence light emitted along the illumination line, and wherein the detector produces a plurality of image frames for the illumination line on the surface of the sample as the stage produces relative movement between the illumination line and the sample; and a processor coupled to the detector to receive the plurality of image frames and configured to generate a photoluminescence image of the surface of the sample. a light source that produces an illumination beam, the light source comprising at least one narrow band illumination source; an optical system that receives the illumination beam and produces an illumination spot on a surface of the sample, the illumination spot having a power density to excite photoluminescence in the sample, wherein all wavelengths in the illumination beam from the at least one narrow band illumination source are simultaneously combined in the illumination spot; a scanning system (118, 120) arranged in the illumination beam between the optical system and the sample that scans the illumination spot across a width of the sample to form an illumination line across the width of the sample, wherein the scanning system scans the illumination beam in a plane that is at a non-normal angle (α1) of incidence on the sample, and wherein the sample emits photoluminescence light in response to excitation caused by the illumination spot along the illumination line; a stage for providing relative movement between the illumination line and the sample; a detector including optics, a spectrometer, and a sensor that includes a two-dimensional sensor array, the detector imaging the photoluminescence light emitted along the illumination line on the two-dimensional array with a first dimension representing spatial information corresponding to a position along the illumination line and a second dimension representing spectral information of the photoluminescence light, wherein the detector produces an image frame representing the photoluminescence light emitted along the illumination line, and wherein the detector produces a plurality of image frames for the illumination line on the surface of the sample as the stage produces relative movement between the illumination line and the sample; and a processor coupled to the detector to receive the plurality of image frames and configured to generate a photoluminescence image of the surface of the sample.