NOVELTY - The casting apparatus comprises a crucible (20) that stores a melt and has an opening on its upper side, a heater for heating the crucible, and a device for supplying an inert gas to an upper portion of an interior of the crucible, where the inert gas supplying device extends to the upper portion of the interior of the crucible and includes a gas flow passage and a gas discharging hole located at a distal end portion of the inert gas supply device. The gas flow passage includes a main gas supply tube placed in a distal end of upper portion of the crucible.    USE - The casting apparatus is useful for producing a silicon ingot that is useful for producing a silicon wafer for a solar cell.    ADVANTAGE - The casting apparatus produces the silicon ingot with high quality and without impurities thus enhancing conversion rate of the solar cell.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - The casting apparatus comprises a crucible (20) that stores a melt and has an opening on its upper side, a heater for heating the crucible, and a device for supplying an inert gas to an upper portion of an interior of the crucible, where the inert gas supplying device extends to the upper portion of the interior of the crucible and includes a gas flow passage and a gas discharging hole located at a distal end portion of the inert gas supply device. The gas discharge hole is provided such that a flow of the supplied inert gas from the gas discharging hole is parallel to a surface of the melt in the crucible or is inclined at a predetermined angle to the surface of the melt in the crucible. The gas flow passage includes a main gas supply tube placed in a distal end of upper portion of the crucible, and the gas discharge hole is formed in a side surface of a distal end portion of the gas supply tube. The gas flow passage further includes gas supply pipes branched from a distal end of the main gas supply pipe. The branched gas supply pipes are arranged parallel to the surface of the melt in the crucible. The gas discharge hole is provided in a distal end of the branched gas supply pipes. An INDEPENDENT CLAIM is included for a casting process.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a casting apparatus.    Silicon melt (3)    Chamber (11)    Crucible (20)    Supporting member (32)    Cover section. (50)