Among light-responsive materials for photonics, azo polymers occupy an important position due to their optical response and the related concepts of consecutive applications. However, scientific insight is still needed to understand the effects of irradiation on the modification of the azo polymer structure and the effect of this modification on incoming probing light. In this work, we report on a surface relief grating with a maximum depth of a record-high value of 1.7 µm, inscribed holographically in a custom synthesized glassy azo polymer belonging to the poly(ether imide) family. We show that the specifically deformed polymer, forming an amplitude-modulated relief grating, has a unique dual effect on an incoming light beam of different diameters. When illuminated by a narrow probe beam, the structure acts as a variable-depth grating, enabling a continuous tuning of the diffraction efficiencies in the entire theoretically predicted range and, thus, generating or eliminating diffracted waves of specified order. Alternatively, when illuminated by a wide probe beam, the whole structure acts as an optical component reshaping the Gaussian light intensity profile into the profiles resembling the squares of Bessel functions of the zeroth- or higher orders. Moreover, a physical justification of the effects observed is provided.
Keywords: azo polymer; diffraction grating; holographic recording; surface relief grating.