Diffraction is recorded along the [010] direction of the β2(2 × 4) GaAs(001) surface.
Odd diffraction orders are absent indicating a pseudo symmetry of half a unit cell.
This is interpreted as due to the As dimer of the terminal layer.
The FWHM of the scattering profile could also be a way to track the number of layers.
During growth, oscillations of the elastic diffraction intensity drop to zero.