This project focuses on the synthesis of silicon-doped indium gallium oxide (InGaO) thin films for deep-UV photodetector application. The InGaO pellet was formed using solid-state synthesis and used as a target for pulsed laser deposition onto C-plane sapphire substrates. The pulsed laser deposition conditions, such as substrate temperature, pulse frequency, pulse energy, and oxygen partial pressure were optimized to improve photodetector performance. The estimated average crystallite size from these films was calculated at 84.26 nm. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and ellipsometry were used to characterize the thin film's properties such as its crystal structure, surface morphology, chemical composition, and optical band gap. We prepared a metal-semiconductor-metal type photodetector configuration to show low-cost applications. Bias-dependent dark and photo-current were measured at varying photon wavelengths to measure detectivity, responsivity, and external quantum efficiency. A spectrometer was used as a tunable light source. The overall characterization of the device was conducted with a Keithley 2400 SourceMeter controlled by an optimized Labview interface. The device displays desirable qualities required in high-level photodetector applications.