Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated by sputter depositing Ti–W onn‐type Si in a dc magnetron sputtering system at voltages ranging from 460 to 780 V dc. The diode characteristics were determined by current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) methods, while deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) served to characterize the sputter induced defects and investigate their dependence on sputtering voltage. Barrier heights of the devices and the concentrations of the sputter induced defects strongly depend on the sputtering voltage. Devices deposited at 660 V dc had the highest barrier height (0.60 eV) and contained the lowest concentration of defects. Several electron traps were measured in the as‐deposited devices. Their concentrations varied by a factor of up to 20 and depended upon the sputtering voltage. Isochronal annealing for 10 min up to a temperature of 400 °C increased the barrier height of all devices, except those deposited at 780 V dc, to a value approximately equal to that of the 660 V dc deposited devices. The isochronal annealing showed that some defects could be removed and that others were again introduced. When annealed at temperatures above 400 °C, defects appeared to be distributed deeper into the substrates than before annealing.