Measurements have been made of the electrical and optical properties of Au–n‐type silicon Schottky‐barrier solar cells (SBSC) in which the metal and semiconductor are separated by a thin interfacial oxide layer ∼10–23 A˚ thick. Measurements of theV‐Icharacteristics showed that the value ofVocis increased by up to 38% and the maximum conversion efficiency by as much as 35% when compared with cells having no grown oxide layer.