A critical consideration of x-ray detectors based on Ga₂O₃: Excitation, carrier transport mechanisms, and performance standardization

X-ray detection underpins a wide range of applications in medicine, security, industrial inspection, scientific research for non-destructive imaging, and material analysis. The rapid development of Ga₂O₃-based x-ray detectors offers a promising pathway toward next-generation detectors with high sensitivity, low noise, and harsh environment applications, benefiting from its intrinsic material properties, such as high density, wide bandgap energy, and high thermal–chemical stability. However, the underlying device operating mechanisms, including both carrier excitation and transport processes, have not yet been adequately studied, largely due to the misuse of x-ray sources in previous studies. In addition, benchmarking of device characteristics has been problematic due to experimental or data analysis issues, as well as misunderstandings of the applied equations associated with parameter definitions. In this work, we have designed and performed instructive research based on epitaxial β–Ga₂O₃:Si and its planar Schottky detectors, measured with energy-tunable monochromatic x-ray beams on a synchrotron beamline, clarifying the device excitation and carrier transport mechanisms with properly benchmarked device performance. In the end, we propose a set of protocols for correctly measuring and analyzing the device performance. The proposed protocols are broadly applicable and can be readily extended to other semiconductor x-ray detectors.