Flexible devices provide advantages such as conformability, portability, and low cost. Paper-based electronics offers a number of advantages for many applications. It is lightweight, inexpensive, and biodegradable, making it an ideal choice for disposable electronics. In this work, we propose a novel configuration of photodetectors using paper as flexible substrates and amorphous Ga2O3 as the active materials, respectively. The photoresponse characteristics are investigated systematically. A decent responsivity yield and a specific detectivity of up to 66 mA/W and 3×1012 Jones were obtained at a low operating voltage of 10 V. The experiments also demonstrate that neither the twisting nor bending deformation can bring obvious performance degradation to the device. This work presents a candidate strategy for the application of conventional paper substrates to low-cost flexible solar-blind photodetectors, showing the potential of being integrated with other materials to create interactive flexible circuits.

We have fabricated the AlGaN solar-blind ultraviolet metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetectors (PDs) with an Al composition of 0.55. The surface roughness and dislocations of the high-Al-content Al0.55Ga0.45N epitaxial layer are analyzed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The device exhibits high spectral responsivity and external quantum efficiency due to the photoconductive gain effect. The current reveals a strong dependence on high temperatures in the range of 4–10 V. Moreover, the Poole–Frenkel emission model and changing space charge regions are employed to explain the carrier transport and photoconductive gain mechanisms for the AlGaN PD, respectively.