The anisotropy in surface and subsurface ionization due to the primary
electron diffraction has been conflictually reported to play a minor
or major role in Auger spectroscopy, and the influence of instrumental
and physical parameters has been discussed. We report on the effects
of incoming beam diffraction on the quantitative analysis of cleaved,
sputtered and Cs covered III-V compounds. We show that measurements mu
st be taken into account for crystalline specimen orientation with res
pect to the incident beam direction.