Patent ID: 11862506
Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 6:
7. A substrate transfer method comprising:
(a) transferring a substrate between a first vacuum substrate transfer module and a substrate processing module at a first height in a vacuum atmosphere;
(b) transferring the substrate between the first vacuum substrate transfer module and a second vacuum substrate transfer module in a vacuum atmosphere, the second vacuum substrate transfer module being disposed under the first vacuum substrate transfer module and having external dimensions smaller than external dimensions of the first vacuum substrate transfer module in a plan view;
(c) transferring the substrate between the second vacuum substrate transfer module and a load lock module at a second height different from the first height in the vacuum atmosphere, the load lock module being disposed between the second vacuum substrate transfer module and an atmospheric substrate transfer module, wherein the first height is higher than the second height; and
(d) transferring the substrate between the load lock module and the atmospheric substrate transfer module in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere.