Patent ID: 6625899
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: B01J,B41J,C23C,H01L,Y10S

Abstract:
A vacuum processing apparatus, including:a first loader provided with a first conveying structure for conveying substrates; a second loader provided with a convey chamber, a second conveying structure and plural vacuum processing chamber, and lock chambers for connecting said first loader and said second loader, wherein: said first loader includes a cassette mount unit located outside of said lock chamber, said cassette mount unit has a cassette positioning plane, which is a substantially horizontal plane in which all cassettes, containing substrates to be processed are positioned in a row in front of a front wall of said lock chambers, a cassette is placed on and removed from said cassette positioning plane so as to maintain a surface of the substrate to be processed, in said cassette, substantially horizontal, each of said lock chambers is provided with both an inlet and an outlet located in a horizontal fine in front of said cassette in said cassette positioning plane, and said first and second conveying structures transfer the substrates sequentially one by one from said first loader to said second loader and from said second loader to said first loader through said lock chambers.