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Transparent flexible electronics constitute a significant research field. Flexible deep-ultraviolet (UV) detectors have received much attention due to their potential in the applications of healthcare, communications, astronomy, and environment monitoring. Recent studies have investigated a variety of flexible photodetectors but show that the transparent, flexible, chemical, and thermal stability performances of these detectors cannot meet the requirements for practical applications. In this study, we demonstrate transparent flexible deep-UV detectors based on the combination of high-quality epitaxial n-type β-Ga2O3 and p-type NiO films as a photodiode on a flexible muscovite substrate. The electrical current of this heterojunction is increased over a 1000 times for on/off ratio under 265 nm wavelength illumination with a reasonable response (<1 s). Moreover, these photodetectors also exhibit good thermal stability as well as excellent mechanical flexibility. Our results exhibit the superior performance of the oxide-based solar-blind deep-UV detectors for advanced flexible sensing and smart applications.

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Self-assembled systems have recently attracted extensive attention because they can display a wide range of phase morphologies in nanocomposites, providing a new arena to explore novel phenomena. Among these morphologies, a bicontinuous structure is highly desirable based on its high interface-to-volume ratio and 3D interconnectivity. A bicontinuous nickel oxide (NiO) and tin dioxide (SnO2) heteroepitaxial nanocomposite is revealed here. By controlling their concentration, we fabricated tuneable self-assembled nanostructures from pillars to bicontinuous structures, as evidenced by TEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with a tortuous compositional distribution. The experimentally observed growth modes are consistent with predictions by first-principles calculations. Phase-field simulations are performed to understand 3D microstructure formation and extract key thermodynamic parameters for predicting microstructure morphologies in SnO2:NiO nanocomposites of other concentrations. Furthermore, we demonstrate significantly enhanced photovoltaic properties in a bicontinuous SnO2:NiO nanocomposite macroscopically and microscopically. This research shows a pathway to developing innovative solar cell and photodetector devices based on self-assembled oxides.

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