Microscopic theory of spatially resolved photoluminescence in quantum structures

We present a microscopic quantum theory of spatially resolved photoluminescence in quantum wells with interface fluctuations. The theory can model low-temperature photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation experiments performed in illumination, collection, illumination–collection mode or diffusion experiments where the spatial positions of excitation and collection are scanned independently. Numerically calculated two-dimensional images clarify the impact of the microscope setup on the obtained images and resolutions.