In this article we present the growth of hexagonal phase MgZnO on nonconventional substrates such as quartz and on sapphire for comparison of the device property. We are reporting the realization of MgZnO-based UV detector on quartz by the pulsed laser deposition technique. MgZnO films are characterized by x-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering-channeling techniques. The morphology of the films is studied by atomic force microscopy. The metal-semiconductor-metal device was fabricated on the MgZnO film to study the device photoresponse under proper UV irradiation. (c) 2005 American Vacuum Society.