Patent ID: 9004788
Filing Date: 2015-04-14
Classification: G03F,H01L

Abstract:
1. A substrate processing method comprising: placing a carrier that houses a plurality of substrates into a carrier-placement unit; transferring an unloaded carrier between a retreat-placement unit prepared for retreating the carrier and the carrier-placement unit, where the unloaded carrier indicates a carrier from which the plurality of substrates are taken out; processing the plurality of substrates one by one by one or more processing modules disposed at a processing block; transferring the plurality of substrates by a first-transfer mechanism between a carrier placed in the carrier-placement unit, a first-transfer module, a second-transfer module, and a buffer module, where the first transfer module is configured to temporarily place the plurality of substrates from the carrier before the plurality of substrates are transferred to the processing block, the second transfer module is configured to temporarily place the plurality of substrates processed by the processing block, and the buffer module is configured to house the plurality of substrates taken out from the second-transfer module so that the plurality of substrates taken out from the second-transfer module can be held before the plurality of substrates are returned to the carrier; transferring the plurality of substrates by a second-transfer mechanism between the first-transfer module, the second-transfer module and a module disposed in the processing block, where the second-transfer mechanism transfers the plurality of substrates in such a way that a substrate brought to the first-transfer module later does not bypass a substrate brought to the first-transfer module earlier; when the second-transfer module houses at least one substrate and the carrier that can house the at least one substrate is not placed in the carrier-placement unit, transferring the at least one substrate housed at the second-transfer module to the buffer module; and when the second-transfer module houses at least one substrate and the carrier that can house the at least one substrate is placed in the carrier-placement unit, transferring the at least one substrate housed in the second-transfer module to the carrier, regardless of whether or not a substrate is being transferred from the buffer module to the carrier.