This paper describes a new method of determining the location of a localized defect in semiconductor materials using the perpendicular p–n junction configuration. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) operating in the charge-collection, or the electron beam induced current (EBIC) mode, is used for this. This method is based on the model used to calculate the contrast of a localized defect as suggested by C. Donolato and is known as the contrast model. This model can be used to precisely extract the location of the localized defect and is unaffected by the value of the surface recombination velocity at the beam entrance surface. The model of the localized defect used in this paper is characterized by minority carriers with constant lifetimes that are lower than those in the bulk. An electron beam with an extended generation profile was used in a two-dimensional (2-D) device simulator, for the verification of the theory.