A method is provided for a full-area optical characterization of an optoelectronic semiconductor material which is provided for producing a plurality of optoelectronic semiconductor chips and which has a band gap which specifies a characteristic wavelength of the semiconductor material. The method includes full-area irradiating a major surface of the optoelectronic semiconductor material with light having an excitation wavelength which is less than the characteristic wavelength of the semiconductor material, with the full-area irradiating generating electron-hole pairs in the semiconductor material. The method further includes full-area detecting a recombination radiation having the characteristic wavelength which is emitted as a result of recombination of the electron-hole pairs from the major surface of the semiconductor material. A device for carrying out the method is also provided.