Characteristics and value enhancement of cast silicon ingots

Main defects affecting cell performance are studied and the theories of how grain size affects cell performance are discussed in the paper too. Moreover, several casting technologies which can be used to achieve even higher quality cast ingots to further increase solar cell efficiency are proposed. These new casting technologies only increase the manufacturing cost on a small scale, however, they will greatly boost the wafers value in the solar market and accelerate the progress of Grid Parity.