Homogeneous Gex-Se1-x thin layers have been prepared by thermal evaporation and pulsed laser deposition technique. Geometrical structures were formed on the surface of the chalcogenide samples by electron beam and photon irradiation methods. The morphology of the created reliefs was investigated by atomic force microscopy. The different aspects of the mechanism of surface relief recording were studied, together with the dependence of the surface relief profile heights on the chalcogen concentration. In addition, the compositions and recording parameters giving the best results were determined.