Patent Abstract:
A method for processing a plurality of substrates after forming a photosensitive film on each substrate includes carrying each substrate into a placement buffer including a plurality of supporters by a first transport mechanism; taking out each substrate from the placement buffer to an interface by a second transport mechanism; carrying each substrate into the exposure device; carrying each substrate out of the exposure device into the placement buffer by the second transport mechanism; taking out each substrate from the placement buffer to the processing section by the first transport mechanism; performing development processing on each substrate; making each substrate stand by at the placement buffer based on timing at which the exposure device can accept each substrate; and making each substrate stand by at the placement buffer based on timing at which the developing device can accept each substrate.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that subjects substrates to various types of processing. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Background Art 
         [0004]    Substrate processing apparatuses are used to subject various types of substrates such as semiconductor substrates, substrates for liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, optical disks, magnetic disks, magneto-optical disks, and photomasks, and other substrates to various types of processing. 
         [0005]    For example, a substrate processing apparatus described in JP 2003-324139 A includes a plurality of processing blocks. Each processing block is provided with a plurality of thermal processing sections, a plurality of chemical solution processing sections and a transport mechanism. In each processing block, substrates are transported to the thermal processing sections and the chemical solution processing sections by the transport mechanism. Then, the substrates are subjected to predetermined processing in the thermal processing sections and the chemical solution processing sections. 
         [0006]    More improved throughput of each processing block is required for improving throughput of the substrate processing apparatus. Examples of the method of improving the throughput of each processing block include reducing a time period required for transporting the substrates by the transport mechanism. 
         [0007]    However, it is difficult to further speed up transportation of the substrates, because the transport speed of the substrates by the transport mechanism has been set sufficiently high. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which throughput can be improved. 
         [0009]    (1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus that is arranged adjacent to an exposure device includes a processing section that subjects a substrate to processing, an interface that is arranged between the processing section and the exposure device, subjects the substrate to processing, and carries the substrate in and out of the exposure device, and a first placement section that is arranged between the processing section and the interface and in which the substrate is to be placed, wherein the interface includes first and second processing regions for subjecting the substrate to the processing, a first substrate transport mechanism that is configured to transport the substrate among the first placement section, the first processing region and the exposure device, and a second substrate transport mechanism that is configured to transport the substrate among the first placement section, the second processing region and the exposure device. 
         [0010]    In the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate is subjected to the predetermined processing in the processing section, and subsequently transported to the interface through the first placement section. Then, the substrate is carried from the interface into the exposure device. The substrate subjected to exposure processing in the exposure device is transported to the interface. At least one of a substrate before the exposure processing and a substrate after the  exposure processing is subjected to the predetermined processing in the first and second processing regions in the interface. 
         [0011]    In this case, the substrate can be transported by the first substrate transport mechanism among the first placement section, the first processing region and the exposure device. In addition, the substrate can be transported by the second substrate transport mechanism among the first placement section, the second processing region and the exposure device. This allows a wider choice of transport paths of the substrate to be available in the interface. 
         [0012]    Accordingly, the substrate can be transported through an optimum path depending on how the substrate is to be processed in the processing section and the first and second processing regions. This allows transport efficiency of the substrate to be increased, resulting in improved throughput. 
         [0013]    (2) The first and second processing regions may each include at least one of a cleaning processing unit that subjects a substrate before exposure processing to cleaning processing and a drying processing unit that subjects a substrate after the exposure processing to drying processing. 
         [0014]    In this case, the substrate before the exposure processing is subjected to the cleaning processing by the cleaning processing unit to prevent contamination in the exposure device. 
         [0015]    Moreover, the drying processing unit subjects the substrate after the exposure processing to the drying processing. Therefore, even though a liquid adheres to the substrate in the exposure device, the liquid can be prevented from dropping in the substrate processing apparatus. Also, components on the substrate can be prevented from being eluted in the liquid adhering to the substrate, and dust or the like in an atmosphere can be prevented from adhering to the liquid that adheres to the substrate. 
         [0016]    (3) The first substrate transport mechanism may transport a substrate before exposure processing, and the second substrate transport mechanism may transport a substrate after the exposure processing. 
         [0017]    In this case, an independent transport path is ensured for each of the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate after the exposure processing in the interface. Thus, the substrate can be more efficiently transported than the case of complicated transport paths for the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate after the exposure processing, resulting in the improved throughput. 
         [0018]    Moreover, the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate after the exposure processing do not come into indirect contact with each other in the interface. This prevents cross-contamination between the substrate before the exposure processing and the substrate after the exposure processing. 
         [0019]    (4) The first placement section may be configured such that a plurality of substrates can be placed in the first placement section. 
         [0020]    In this case, the substrates are temporarily housed in the first placement section to easily adjust the transport speed of the substrate. 
         [0021]    (5) The interface may include a processing block for subjecting the substrate to the processing, a carry-in/carry-out block for carrying the substrate in and out of the exposure device, and a second placement section that is arranged between the processing block and the carry-in/carry-out block and in which the substrate is to be placed, the first and second processing regions may be provided in the processing block, the first substrate transport mechanism may include a first substrate holder that is provided in the processing block and configured to hold and transport the substrate among the first placement section, the first processing region and the second placement section, and a second substrate holder that is provided in the carry-in/carry-out block and configured to hold and transport the substrate between the second placement section and the exposure device, and the second substrate transport mechanism may include a third substrate holder that is configured to hold and transport the substrate among the first placement section, the second processing region and the second placement section in the processing block, and a fourth substrate holder that is provided in the carry-in/carry-out block and configured to hold and transport the substrate between the second placement section and the exposure device. 
         [0022]    In this case, the substrate can be held and transported among the first placement section, the first processing region and the second placement section by the first substrate holder, and the substrate can be held and transported among the first placement section, the second processing region and the second placement section by the third substrate holder in the processing block. In addition, the substrate can be held and transported between the second placement section and the exposure device by the second and fourth substrate holders in the carry-in/carry-out block. 
         [0023]    This allows a wider choice of transport paths of the substrate to be available in the processing block. In addition, the substrate can be carried in and out of the exposure device with simple operation in the carry-in/carry-out block. Therefore, the transport path of the substrate in the processing block is optimized to easily improve the transport efficiency of the substrate. 
         [0024]    (6) The first substrate transport mechanism may include a first transport device that is provided in the processing block and includes the first substrate holder, and a second transport device that is provided in the processing block and includes the third substrate holder, the processing section, the processing block, the carry-in/carry-out block and the exposure device may be provided side by side along a first direction, the first and second processing regions and the first and second transport devices may be arranged along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction within a horizontal plane in the processing block, and the first and second transport devices may be arranged between the first and second processing regions, and the first transport device may be arranged on a side of the first processing region and the second transport device may be arranged on a side of the second processing region. 
         [0025]    In this case, an increase in the size of the substrate processing apparatus can be suppressed while the transport efficiency of the substrate in the interface can be reliably improved. 
         [0026]    (7) The processing section may include a plurality of processing chambers that are hierarchically provided, a plurality of liquid processing units that are provided in the plurality of processing chambers, respectively, and each subject the substrate to liquid processing, a plurality of transport chambers that are hierarchically provided, and a plurality of transport mechanisms for the transport chambers that are provided in the plurality of transport chambers, respectively, and each transport the substrate. 
         [0027]    In this case, the substrates are subjected to the liquid processing by the plurality of liquid processing units in the plurality of processing chambers. Moreover, the substrates after the liquid processing are transported by the plurality of transport mechanisms for the transport chambers in the plurality of transport chambers. Accordingly, the substrates can be concurrently processed and transported by the plurality of liquid processing units and the plurality of transport mechanisms for the transport chambers, thus improving the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus. 
         [0028]    Moreover, the plurality of processing chambers are hierarchically provided and the plurality of transport chambers are hierarchically provided, thereby making it possible to provide the plurality of liquid processing chambers and the plurality of transport chambers without increasing footprint of the substrate processing apparatus. 
         [0029]    (8) The plurality of processing chambers may include a first processing chamber group and a second processing chamber group, the plurality of transport chambers may include a first transport chamber and a second transport chamber, and the first transport chamber may be provided adjacent to the first processing chamber group, and the second transport chamber may be provided adjacent to the second processing chamber group. 
         [0030]    In this case, the substrate processed in the first processing chamber group can be transported by the transport mechanism for the transport chamber in the first transport chamber, and the substrate processed in the second processing chamber group can be transported by the transport mechanism for the transport chamber in the second transport chamber. This allows the plurality of substrates to be smoothly distributed to the first and second processing chamber groups, thus sufficiently improving the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus. 
         [0031]    Even when one transport mechanism for the transport chamber of the transport mechanisms for the transport chambers in the first and second transport chambers is stopped because of malfunction, a maintenance operation and so on, the substrates can be continuously transported and processed using the other transport mechanism for the transport chamber and the liquid processing unit of the processing chamber group corresponding to the transport mechanism for the transport chamber. 
         [0032]    Furthermore, even when the use of one processing chamber group of the first and second processing chamber groups is stopped because of malfunction, a maintenance operation and so on, the substrates can be continuously processed and transported using the liquid processing unit of the other processing chamber group and the transport mechanism for the transport chamber corresponding to the processing chamber group. 
         [0033]    (9) The first placement section may include a first placement portion that is provided between the first transport chamber and the interface, and a second placement portion that is provided between the second transport chamber and the interface, the plurality of transport mechanisms for the transport chambers may include a first in-chamber transport mechanism that is provided in the first transport chamber, a second in-chamber transport mechanism that is provided in the second transport chamber, the first in-chamber transport mechanism may be configured to transport the substrate to the first placement portion, and the second in-chamber transport mechanism may be configured to transport the substrate to the second placement portion. 
         [0034]    In this case, the substrate processed in the first processing chamber group can be transported to the first placement portion by the first in-chamber transport mechanism, and the substrate processed in the second processing chamber group can be transported to the second placement portion by the second in-chamber transport mechanism. In addition, the substrates can be transported by the first and second substrate transport mechanisms between the first and second placement portions and the exposure device. As a result, the substrates can be smoothly transported among the first and second processing chamber groups, the interface and the exposure device. 
         [0035]    According to the present invention, the transport efficiency of the substrates can be improved and the throughput can be improved. 
         [0036]    Other features, elements, characteristics, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0037]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0038]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of a coating processing section, a coating/development processing section and a cleaning/drying processing section of  FIG. 1  that are seen from a +Y direction. 
           [0039]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of thermal processing sections and the cleaning/drying processing section of  FIG. 1  that are seen from a −Y direction. 
           [0040]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of the coating processing section, a transport section and the thermal processing section of  FIG. 1  that are seen from a −X direction. 
           [0041]      FIG. 5  is a diagram of the transport sections that are seen from the −Y direction. 
           [0042]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing a transport mechanism. 
           [0043]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of a cleaning/drying processing block. 
           [0044]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing the appearance of a placement/buffer section. 
           [0045]      FIG. 9  is a side view of the placement/buffer section. 
           [0046]      FIG. 10  is a plan view for explaining an operation of carrying a substrate W in and out of the placement/buffer section. 
           [0047]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing the appearance of placement/cooling sections. 
           [0048]      FIG. 12  is a diagram of the placement/cooling sections that is seen from a +X direction. 
           [0049]      FIG. 13  is a schematic transverse sectional view of the placement/cooling section. 
           [0050]      FIG. 14  is a schematic sectional view for explaining an operation of carrying the substrate W in and out of the placement/cooling section. 
           [0051]      FIG. 15  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block in a first modification. 
           [0052]      FIG. 16  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block in a second modification. 
           [0053]      FIG. 17  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block in a third modification. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0054]    A substrate processing apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a substrate refers to a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for a liquid crystal display, a substrate for a plasma display, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, a substrate for a photomask or the like. 
         [0055]    (1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus 
         [0056]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0057]      FIG. 1  and the following predetermined drawings are accompanied by arrows that respectively indicate X, Y, and Z directions perpendicular to one another for clarity of a positional relationship. The X and Y directions are perpendicular to each other within a horizontal plane, and the Z direction corresponds to a vertical direction. In each of the directions, the direction of the arrow is defined as a +direction, and the opposite direction is defined as a −direction. 
         [0058]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the substrate processing apparatus  100  includes an indexer block  11 , a first processing block  12 , a second processing block  13 , a cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and a carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. The cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B constitute an interface block  14 . An exposure device  15  is arranged adjacent to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. The exposure device  15  subjects a substrate W to exposure processing by means of a liquid immersion method. 
         [0059]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the indexer block  11  includes a plurality of carrier platforms  111  and a transport section  112 . A carrier  113  that houses a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is placed on each carrier platform  111 . Although FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) are adopted as the carriers  113  in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the same. For example, SMIF (Standard Mechanical Inter Face) pods, or OCs (Open Cassettes) that expose the hosued substrates W to outside air may be used. 
         [0060]    A controller  114  and a transport mechanism  115  are provided in the transport section  112 . The controller  114  controls various components in the substrate processing apparatus  100 . The transport mechanism  115  has a hand  116  for holding the substrate W. The transport mechanism  115  holds and transports the substrate W using the hand  116 . In addition, an opening  117  through which the substrates W are received and transferred between the carriers  113  and the transport mechanism  115  is formed in the transport section  112  as described below referring to  FIG. 5 . 
         [0061]    The first processing block  12  includes a coating processing section  121 , a transport section  122  and a thermal processing section  123 . The coating processing section  121  and the thermal processing section  123  are provided to be opposite to each other with the transport section  122  sandwiched therebetween. A substrate platform PASS 1  and substrate platforms PASS 2  to PASS 4  (see  FIG. 5 ), described later, on which the substrates W are to be placed, are provided between the transport section  122  and the indexer block  11 . A transport mechanism  127  that transports the substrates W and a transport mechanism  128  (see  FIG. 5 ), described below, are provided in the transport section  122 . 
         [0062]    The second processing block  13  includes a coating/development processing section  131 , a transport section  132  and a thermal processing section  133 . The coating/development processing section  131  and the thermal processing section  133  are provided to be opposite to each other with the transport section  132  sandwiched therebetween. A substrate platform PASS 5  and substrate platforms PASS 6  to PASS 8  (see  FIG. 5 ), described below, on which the substrates W are to be placed are provided between the transport section  132  and the transport section  122 . A transport mechanism  137  and a transport mechanism  138  (see  FIG. 5 ), described below, that transport the substrates W are provided in the transport section  132 . A gasket  145  is provided between the thermal processing section  133  and the interface block  14  in the second processing block  13 . 
         [0063]    The cleaning/drying processing block  14 A includes cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  and a transport section  163 . The cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  are provided to be opposite to each other with the transport section  163  sandwiched therebetween. Transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  are provided in the transport section  163 . 
         [0064]    A placement/buffer section P-BF 1  and a placement/buffer section P-BF 2  (see  FIG. 5 ), described below, are provided between the transport section  163  and the transport section  132 . The placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  are configured to house the plurality of substrates W therein. 
         [0065]    Moreover, a substrate platform PASS 9  and placement/cooling sections P-CP (see  FIG. 5 ) that are described below are provided between the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  so as to be adjacent to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. The placement/cooling sections P-CP each have a function of cooling the substrates W (a cooling plate, for example). The substrates W are cooled to a temperature suitable for the exposure processing in the placement/cooling sections P-CP. 
         [0066]    A transport mechanism  146  is provided in the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. The transport mechanism  146  carries the substrates W in and out of the exposure device  15 . A substrate carry-in section  15   a  for carrying the substrate W in and a substrate carry-out section  15   b  for carrying the substrate W out are provided in the exposure device  15 . Note that the substrate carry-in section  15   a  and the substrate carry-out section  15   b  of the exposure device  15  may be arranged to be adjacent to each other in a horizontal direction or may be arranged one above the other. 
         [0067]    Here, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B is provided to be movable in a +Y direction and a −Y direction with respect to the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. The carry-in/carry-out block  14 B can be moved in a +Y direction or a −Y direction to ensure a working space for maintenance operation of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B and the exposure device  15 . Note that the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B can be easily moved because of its lighter weight than the other blocks. 
         [0068]    Note that a significant amount of liquid (a cleaning liquid and a rinse liquid, for example) is used in the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  in the cleaning/drying processing bock  14 A. Therefore, the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A needs to be reliably connected to equipment for supplying the liquid. Meanwhile, liquid is hardly used in the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. Therefore, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B can be connected to the equipment in a simplified manner. That is, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B can be easily separated from and reconnected to the equipment. 
         [0069]    Accordingly, only the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B is moved while the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A is not moved at the time of the maintenance operation of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B and the exposure device  15 , thus significantly reducing the labor of workers and working time. 
         [0070]    (2) Configurations of the Coating Processing Section and the Development Processing Section 
         [0071]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of the coating processing section  121 , the coating/development processing section  131  and the cleaning/drying processing section  161  of  FIG. 1  that are seen from the +Y direction. 
         [0072]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , coating processing chambers  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  are hierarchically provided in the coating processing section  121 . A coating processing unit  129  is provided in each of the coating processing chambers  21  to  24 . Development processing chambers  31 ,  33  and coating processing chambers  32 ,  34  are hierarchically provided in the coating/development processing section  131 . A development processing unit  139  is provided in each of the development processing chambers  31 ,  33  and a coating processing unit  129  is provided in each of the coating processing chambers  32 ,  34 . 
         [0073]    Each coating processing unit  129  includes spin chucks  25  that hold the substrates W and cups  27  provided to cover the periphery of the spin chucks  25 . In the present embodiment, each coating processing unit  129  is provided with two spin chucks  25  and two cups  27 . The spin chucks  25  are rotated by a driving device (an electric motor, for example) that is not shown. 
         [0074]    In addition, each coating processing unit  129  includes a plurality of nozzles  28  that discharge processing liquid and a nozzle transport mechanism  29  that transports the nozzles  28  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0075]    In the coating processing unit  129 , any one of the plurality of nozzles  28  is moved above the substrate W by the nozzle transport mechanism  29 . The processing liquid is then discharged from the nozzle  28  to be applied onto the substrate W. Note that the spin chuck  25  is rotated by the driving device, not shown, when the processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle  28  onto the substrate W, thus causing the substrate W to be rotated. 
         [0076]    In the present embodiment, a processing liquid for an antireflection film is supplied from the nozzles  28  onto the substrates W in the coating processing units  129  of the coating processing  chambers  22 ,  24 . A processing liquid for a resist film is supplied from the nozzles  28  onto the substrates W in the coating processing units  129  of the coating processing chambers  21 ,  23 . A processing liquid for a resist cover film is supplied from the nozzles  28  onto the substrates W in the coating processing units  129  of the coating processing chambers  32 ,  34 . 
         [0077]    Similarly to the coating processing unit  129 , each development processing unit  139  includes the spin chucks  35  and the cups  37  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Each development processing unit  139  includes two slit nozzles  38  that discharge development liquids and a moving mechanism  39  that moves the slit nozzles  38  in the X direction as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0078]    In the development processing unit  139 , first, one slit nozzle  38  supplies the development liquid onto each substrate W while moving in the X direction. Then, the other slit nozzle  38  supplies the development liquid onto each substrate W while moving. Note that the spin chucks  35  are rotated by the driving device, not shown, when the development liquid is supplied from the slit nozzles  38  onto the substrates W to cause the substrates W to be rotated. 
         [0079]    In the present embodiment, the development liquid is supplied onto the substrates W, so that the resist cover films on the substrates W are removed and the development processing is performed to the substrates W in the development processing unit  139 . In addition, the different development liquids are discharged from the two slit nozzles  38  in the present embodiment. Accordingly, the two kinds of development liquids can be supplied onto each substrate W. 
         [0080]    While the coating processing unit  129  includes the two cups  27  and the development processing unit  139  includes the three cups  37  in the example of  FIG. 2 , the coating processing unit  129  may include three cups  27  and the development processing unit  139  may include two cups  37 . 
         [0081]    A plurality of (four in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD1 are provided in the cleaning/drying processing section  161 . The substrates W before the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD1. 
         [0082]    Note that polishing processing may be performed to a back surface of the substrate W and an end (a bevel portion) of the substrate W using a brush or the like in each cleaning/drying processing unit SD1. Here, the back surface of the substrate W means an opposite side of the surface of the substrate W on which various patterns such as a circuit pattern are to be formed. 
         [0083]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , air supply units  41  for supplying clean air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted into the coating processing chambers  21  to  24 ,  32 ,  34  are provided above the coating processing units  129  in the coating processing chambers  21  to  24 ,  32 ,  34 . In addition, air supply units  47  for supplying clean air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted into the development processing chambers  31 ,  33  are provided above the development processing units  139  in the development processing chambers  31 ,  33 . 
         [0084]    An exhaust unit  42  for exhausting an atmosphere within the cup  27  is provided below the coating processing unit  129  in each of the coating processing chambers  21  to  24 ,  32 ,  34 . An exhaust unit  48  for exhausting an atmosphere within the cup  37  is provided below the development processing unit  139  in each of the development processing chambers  31 ,  33 . 
         [0085]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fluid box  50  is provided in the coating processing section  121  so as to be adjacent to the coating/development processing section  131 . Similarly, a fluid box  60  is provided in the coating/development processing section  131  so as to be adjacent to the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. The fluid box  50  and the fluid box  60  each house fluid related elements such as a pipe, a joint, a valve, a flowmeter, a regulator, a pump, a temperature adjuster used to supply a chemical solution to the coating processing units  129  and the development processing units  139  and discharge the chemical solution and air out of the coating processing units  129  and the development processing units  139 . 
         [0086]    (3) Configurations of the Thermal Processing Sections 
         [0087]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of the thermal processing sections  122 ,  133  and the cleaning/drying processing section  162  of  FIG. 1  that are seen from the −Y direction. 
         [0088]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the thermal processing section  123  has an upper stage thermal processing portion  301  provided above and a lower stage thermal processing portion  302  provided below. The upper stage thermal processing portion  301  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  302  are each provided with a plurality of thermal processing units PHP, a plurality of adhesion reinforcing processing units PAHP and a plurality of cooling units CP. 
         [0089]    The substrates W are subjected to thermal processing and cooling processing in the thermal processing units PHP. Adhesion reinforcing processing for improving adhesion between the substrates W and the antireflection films is performed in the adhesion reinforcing processing units PAHP. Specifically, an adhesion reinforcing agent such as HMDS (hexametyldisilazane) is applied to the substrates W and the thermal processing is performed to the substrates W in the adhesion reinforcing processing units PAHP. In the cooling unit CP, the substrates W are subjected to cooling processing. 
         [0090]    The thermal processing section  133  includes an upper stage thermal processing portion  303  provided above and a lower stage thermal processing portion  304  provided below. The upper stage thermal processing portion  303  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  are each provided with a cooling unit CP, a plurality of thermal processing units PHP and an edge exposure portion EEW. The exposure processing is performed to peripheral portions of the substrates W in the edge exposure portion EEW. 
         [0091]    In addition, a plurality of (five in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD2 are provided in the cleaning/drying processing section  162 . The substrates W after the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD2. 
         [0092]    (4) Configuration of the Transport Sections 
         [0093]    (4-1) Schematic Configuration 
         [0094]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of the coating processing section  121 , the transport section  122  and the thermal processing section  123  of  FIG. 1  that are seen from the −X direction.  FIG. 5  is a diagram of the transport sections  122 ,  132 ,  163  that are seen from the −Y direction. 
         [0095]    As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the transport section  122  has an upper stage transport chamber  125  and a lower stage transport chamber  126 . The transport section  132  has an upper stage transport chamber  135  and a lower stage transport chamber  136 . 
         [0096]    The transport mechanism  127  is provided in the upper stage transport chamber  125  and the transport mechanism  128  is provided in the lower stage transport chamber  126 . The transport mechanism  137  is provided in the upper stage transport chamber  135  and the transport mechanism  138  is provided in the lower stage transport chamber  136 . 
         [0097]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22  are provided to be opposite to the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  with the upper stage transport chamber  125  sandwiched therebetween, and the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24  are provided to be opposite to the lower stage thermal processing portion  302  with the lower stage transport chamber  126  sandwiched therebetween. Similarly, the development processing chamber  31  and the coating processing chamber  32  ( FIG. 2 ) are provided to be opposite to the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  ( FIG. 3 ) with the upper stage transport chamber  135  ( FIG. 5 ) sandwiched therebetween, and the development processing chamber  33  and the coating processing chamber  34  ( FIG. 2 ) are provided to be opposite to the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  ( FIG. 3 ) with the lower stage transport chamber  136  ( FIG. 5 ) sandwiched therebetween. 
         [0098]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the substrate platforms PASS 1 , PASS 2  are provided between the transport section  112  and the upper stage transport chamber  125 , and the substrate platforms PASS 3 , PASS 4  are provided between the transport section  112  and the lower stage transport chamber  126 . The substrate platforms PASS 5 , PASS 6  are provided between the upper stage transport chamber  125  and the upper stage transport chamber  135 , and the substrate platforms PASS 7 , PASS 8  are provided between the lower stage transport chamber  126  and the lower stage transport chamber  136 . 
         [0099]    The placement/buffer section P-BF 1  is provided between the upper stage transport chamber  135  and the transport section  163 , and the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  is provided between the lower stage transport chamber  136  and the transport section  163 . The substrate platform PASS 9  and the plurality of placement/cooling sections P-CP are provided in the transport section  163  so as to be adjacent to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. 
         [0100]    The placement/buffer section P-BF 1  is configured such that the substrates W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanism  137  and the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  ( FIG. 1 ). The placement/buffer section P-BF 2  is configured such that the substrates W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanism  138  and the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  ( FIG. 1 ). The substrate platform PASS 9  and the placement/cooling sections P-FP are configured such that the substrates W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  ( FIG. 1 ) and the transport mechanism  146 . 
         [0101]    While the one substrate platform PASS 9  is provided in the example of  FIG. 5 , a plurality of substrate platforms PASS 9  may be provided one above another. In this case, the plurality of substrate platforms PASS 9  may be used as buffer portions on which the substrates W are temporarily placed. 
         [0102]    In the present embodiment, the substrates W to be transported from the indexer block  11  to the first processing block  12  are placed on the substrate platform PASS 1  and the substrate platform PASS 3 , and the substrates W to be transported from the first processing block  12  to the indexer block  11  are placed on the substrate platform PASS 2  and the substrate platform PASS 4 . 
         [0103]    The substrates W to be transported from the first processing block  12  to the second processing block  13  are placed on the substrate platform PASS 5  and the substrate platform PASS 7 , and the substrates W to be transported from the second processing block  13  to the first processing block  12  are placed on the substrate platform PASS 6  and the substrate platform PASS 8 . 
         [0104]    The substrates W to be transported from the second processing block  13  to the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A are placed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 , the substrates W to be transported from the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B are placed in the placement/cooling sections P-CP, and the substrates W to be transported from the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B to the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A is placed on the substrate platform PASS 9 . 
         [0105]    An air supply unit  43  is provided above the transport mechanism  127  within the upper stage transport chamber  125 , and an air supply unit  43  is provided above the transport mechanism  128  in the lower stage transport chamber  126 . An air supply unit  43  is provided above the transport mechanism  137  within the upper stage transport chamber  135 , and the air supply unit  43  is provided above the transport mechanism  138  within the lower stage transport chamber  136 . Air whose temperature and humidity is adjusted is supplied from a temperature adjustment device, not shown, to the air supply units  43 . 
         [0106]    In addition, an exhaust unit  44  for exhausting air in the upper stage transport chamber  125  is provided below the transport mechanism  127  within the upper stage transport chamber  125 , and an exhaust unit  44  for exhausting air in the lower stage transport chamber  126  is provided below the transport mechanism  128  within the lower stage transport chamber  126 . 
         [0107]    Similarly, an exhaust unit  44  for exhausting air in the upper stage transport chamber  135  is provided below the transport mechanism  137  within the upper stage transport chamber  135 , and an exhaust unit  44  for exhausting air in the lower stage transport chamber  136  is provided below the transport mechanism  138  within the lower stage transport chamber  136 . 
         [0108]    Accordingly, the atmosphere in the upper stage transport chambers  125 ,  135  and the lower stage transport chambers  126 ,  136  is maintained in a clean state with suitable temperature and humidity. 
         [0109]    An air supply unit  45  is provided in an upper portion within the transport section  163  of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. An air supply unit  46  is provided in an upper portion within the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. Air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted is supplied from the temperature adjustment device, not shown, to the air supply units  45 ,  46 . Accordingly, the atmosphere in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B is maintained in a clean state with suitable temperature and humidity. 
         [0110]    (4-2) Configuration of the Transport Mechanism 
         [0111]    Next, description will be made of the transport mechanism  127 .  FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the transport mechanism  127 . 
         [0112]    As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the transport mechanism  127  has long-sized guide rails  311 ,  312 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the guide rail  311  is fixed to the side of the transport section  112  to extend in the vertical direction in the upper stage transport chamber  125 . The guide rail  312  is fixed to the side of the upper stage transport chamber  135  to extend in the vertical direction in the upper stage transport chamber  125 . 
         [0113]    As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , a long-sized guide rail  313  is provided between the guide rail  311  and the guide rail  312 . The guide rail  313  is attached to the guide rails  311 ,  312  in a vertically movable manner. A moving member  314  is attached to the guide rail  313 . The moving member  314  is provided in a movable manner in a longitudinal direction of the guide rail  313 . 
         [0114]    A long-sized rotating member  315  is provided on an upper surface of the moving member  314  in a rotatable manner. A hand H 1  and a hand H 2  for holding the substrates W are attached to the rotating member  315 . The hands H 1 , H 2  are provided in a movable manner in a longitudinal direction of the rotating member  315 . 
         [0115]    The above-described configuration allows the transport mechanism  127  to freely move in the X direction and the Z direction within the upper stage transport chamber  125 . In addition, the substrates W can be transferred among the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22  ( FIG. 2 ), the substrate platforms PASS 1 , PASS 2 , PASS 5 , PASS 6  ( FIG. 5 ) and the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hands H 1 , H 2 . 
         [0116]    Note that the transport mechanisms  128 ,  137 ,  138  each have the same configuration as the transport mechanism  127  as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0117]    (5) Configuration of the Cleaning/Drying Processing Block 
         [0118]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. Note that  FIG. 7  is a diagram of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A that is seen from the +X direction. 
         [0119]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the transport mechanism  141  has hands H 3 , H 4  for holding the substrates W, and the transport mechanism  142  has hands H 5 , H 6  for holding the substrates W. 
         [0120]    The cleaning/drying processing units SD1 are hierarchically provided on the +Y side of the transport mechanism  141 , and the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 are hierarchically provided on the −Y side of the transport mechanism  142 . The placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  are provided one above the other on the −X side between the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142 . 
         [0121]    The thermal processing units PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  are configured such that the substrates W can be carried in from the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. 
         [0122]    (6) Operation of Each Component of the Substrate Processing Apparatus 
         [0123]    Description will be made of the operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus  100  according to the present embodiment. 
         [0124]    (6-1) Operation of the Indexer Block  11   
         [0125]    Description will be made of the operation of the indexer block  11  mainly referring to  FIGS. 1 and 5 . 
         [0126]    First, the carriers  113  in which unprocessed substrates W are housed are placed on the carrier platforms  111  of the indexer block  11  in the substrate processing apparatus  100  according to the present embodiment. The transport mechanism  115  takes out one substrate W from the carrier  113 , and transports the substrate W to the substrate platform PASS 1 . Then, the transport mechanism  115  takes out another unprocessed substrate W from the carrier  113 , and transports the substrate W to the substrate platform PASS 3  ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0127]    Note that when a processed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS 2  ( FIG. 5 ), the transport mechanism  115  transports the unprocessed substrate W to the substrate platform PASS 1  and subsequently takes out the processed substrate W from the substrate platform PASS 2 . Then, the transport mechanism  115  transports the processed substrate W to the carrier  113 . Similarly, when a processed substrate W is placed on the substrate platform PASS 4 , the transport mechanism  115  transports the unprocessed substrate W to the substrate platform PASS 3 , and subsequently takes out the processed substrate W from the substrate platform PASS 4 . Then, the processed substrate W is transported to the carrier  113  by the transport mechanism  115  to be housed in the carrier  113 . 
         [0128]    ( 6 - 2 ) Operation of the First Processing Block  12   
         [0129]    Description will be made of the operation of the first processing block  12  mainly referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  5 . Note that movement of the transport mechanisms  127 ,  128  in the X direction and the Z direction is not explained in the following paragraphs for simplicity. 
         [0130]    The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 1  ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  115  ( FIG. 5 ) is taken out by the hand H 1  of the transport mechanism  127  ( FIG. 5 ). The transport mechanism  127  places the substrate W held by the hand H 2  on the substrate platform PASS 2 . Note that the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 2  by the hand H 2  is the substrate W after the development processing. 
         [0131]    Next, the transport mechanism  127  takes out the substrate W after the adhesion reinforcing processing from a predetermined adhesion reinforcing processing unit PAHP ( FIG. 3 ) of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  127  carries the unprocessed substrate W held by the hand H 1  in the adhesion reinforcing processing unit PAHP. 
         [0132]    Next, the transport mechanism  127  takes out the substrate W after the cooling processing from a predetermined cooling unit CP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  127  carries the substrate W after the adhesion reinforcing processing held by the hand H 2  in the cooling unit CP. The substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for formation of the antireflection film in the cooling unit CP. 
         [0133]    The transport mechanism  127  then takes out the substrate W after formation of the antireflection film from the spin chuck  25  ( FIG. 2 ) of the coating processing chamber  22  ( FIG. 2 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  127  places the substrate W after the cooling processing held by the hand H 1  on the spin chuck  25 . The antireflection film is formed on the substrate W by the coating processing unit  129  ( FIG. 2 ) in the coating processing chamber  22 . 
         [0134]    Next, the transport mechanism  127  takes out the substrate W after the thermal processing from a predetermined thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  127  carries the substrate W after formation of the antireflection film held by the hand H 2  in the thermal processing unit PHP. The substrates W are successively subjected to the heating processing and the cooling processing in the thermal processing unit PHP. 
         [0135]    The transport mechanism  127  subsequently takes out the substrate W after the cooling processing from a predetermined cooling unit CP ( FIG. 3 ) of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 4 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  127  carries the substrate W after the thermal processing held by the hand H 1  in the cooling unit CP. The substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for resist film forming processing in the cooling unit CP. 
         [0136]    The transport mechanism  127  then takes out the substrate W after formation of the resist film from the spin chuck  25  ( FIG. 2 ) of the coating processing chamber  21  ( FIG. 2 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  127  places the substrate W after the cooling processing held by the hand H 2  on the spin chuck  25 . The resist film is formed on the substrate W by the coating processing unit  129  ( FIG. 2 ) in the coating processing chamber  22 . 
         [0137]    Next, the transport mechanism  127  takes out the substrate W after the thermal processing from the predetermined thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  127  carries the substrate W after formation of the resist film held by the hand H 1  in the thermal processing unit PHP. 
         [0138]    The transport mechanism  127  then places the substrate W after the thermal processing held by the hand H 2  on the substrate platform PASS 5  ( FIG. 5 ). The transport mechanism  127  takes out the substrate W after the development processing from the substrate platform PASS 6  ( FIG. 5 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  127  subsequently transports the substrate W after the development processing that has been taken out from the substrate platform PASS 6  to the substrate platform PASS 2  ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0139]    The transport mechanism  127  repeats the foregoing processing to cause the plurality of substrates W to be successively subjected to the predetermined processing in the first processing block  12 . 
         [0140]    The transport mechanism  128  performs the same operation as the transport mechanism  127  to carry the substrates W in and out of the substrate platforms PASS 3 , PASS 4 , PASS 7 , PASS 8  ( FIG. 5 ), the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24  ( FIG. 2 ) and the lower stage thermal processing portion  302  ( FIG. 4 ). 
         [0141]    As described above, the substrates W transported by the transport mechanism  127  are processed in the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22  and the upper stage thermal processing portion  301 , and the substrates W transported by the transport mechanism  128  are processed in the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  302  in the present embodiment. In this case, the plurality of substrates W can be simultaneously processed in the upper processing section (the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22  and the upper stage  thermal processing portion  301 ) and the lower processing section (the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  302 ). This improves throughput of the first processing block  12  without increasing the transport speed of the substrates W by the transport mechanisms  127 ,  128 . The transport mechanisms  127 ,  128  are provided one above the other, thus preventing an increase of footprint of the substrate processing apparatus  100 . 
         [0142]    While the substrates W are subjected to the cooling processing in the cooling unit CP before the antireflection film forming processing in the coating processing chamber  22  in the foregoing example, the substrates W may not be subjected to the cooling processing in the cooling unit CP before the development processing if the antireflection film can be properly formed. 
         [0143]    (6-3) Operation of the Second Processing Block  13   
         [0144]    Description will be made of the operation of the second processing block  13  mainly referring to  FIGS. 1 to 3  and  5 . Note that movement of the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  in the X direction and the Z direction is not explained in the following paragraphs for simplicity. 
         [0145]    The substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 5  ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  127  is taken out by the hand H 1  of the transport mechanism  137  ( FIG. 5 ). The transport mechanism  137  places the substrate W held by the hand H 2  on the substrate platform PASS 6 . Note that the substrate W placed on the substrate platform PASS 6  by the hand H 2  is the substrate W after the development processing. 
         [0146]    Next, the transport mechanism  137  takes out the substrate W after formation of the resist cover film from the spin chuck  25  ( FIG. 2 ) of the coating processing chamber  32  ( FIG. 2 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  137  places the substrate W after formation of the resist film held by the hand H 1  on the spin chuck  25 . The resist cover film is formed on the substrate W by the coating processing unit  129  ( FIG. 2 ) in the coating processing chamber  32 . 
         [0147]    Next, the transport mechanism  137  takes out the substrate W after the thermal processing from a predetermined thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  137  carries the substrate W after formation of the resist cover film held by the hand H 2  in the thermal processing unit PHP. 
         [0148]    The transport mechanism  137  then takes out the substrate W after the edge exposure processing from the edge exposure section EEW ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  137  carries the substrate W after the thermal processing held by the hand H 1  in the edge exposure section EEW. The peripheral portion of the substrate W is subjected to the exposure processing in the edge exposure section EEW. 
         [0149]    Next, the transport mechanism  137  places the substrate W after the edge exposure processing held by the hand H 2  in the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  ( FIG. 5 ), and takes out the substrate W after the thermal processing from the thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 4 ) adjacent to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 A using the hand H 2 . Note that the substrate W taken out from the thermal processing unit PHP adjacent to the carry-in/carry-out block  14 A is the substrate W that has been subjected to the exposure processing in the exposure device  15 . 
         [0150]    Next, the transport mechanism  137  takes out the substrate W after the cooling processing from a predetermined cooling unit CP ( FIG. 3 ) of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  ( FIG. 3 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  137  carries the substrate W after the exposure processing held by the hand H 2  in the cooling unit CP. The substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for the development processing in the cooling unit CP. 
         [0151]    The transport mechanism  137  then takes out the substrate W after the development processing from the spin chuck  35  ( FIG. 2 ) of the development processing chamber  31  ( FIG. 2 ) using the hand H 2 . The transport mechanism  137  places the substrate W after the cooling processing held by the hand H 1  on the spin chuck  35 . Removing processing of the resist cover film and the development processing are performed by the development processing unit  139  in the development processing chamber  31 . 
         [0152]    Next, the transport mechanism  137  takes out the substrate W after the thermal processing from a predetermined thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  ( FIG. 4 ) using the hand H 1 . The transport mechanism  137  carries the substrate W after the development processing held by the hand H 2  to the thermal processing unit PHP. Then, the transport mechanism  137  places the substrate W taken out from the thermal processing unit PHP on the substrate platform PASS 6  ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0153]    The transport mechanism  137  repeats the foregoing processing to cause the plurality of substrates W to be successively subjected to the predetermined processing in the second processing block  13 . 
         [0154]    The transport mechanism  138  performs the same operation as the transport mechanism  137  to carry the substrates W in and out of the substrate platforms PASS 7 , PASS 8 , the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  ( FIG. 5 ), the development processing chamber  33  ( FIG. 2 ), the coating processing chamber  34  ( FIG. 2 ) and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0155]    As described above, the substrates W transported by the transport mechanism  137  are processed in the development processing chamber  31 , the coating processing chamber  32  and the upper stage thermal processing portion  303 , and the substrates W transported by the transport mechanism  138  are processed in the development processing chamber  33 , the coating processing chamber  34  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  in the present embodiment. In this case, the plurality of substrates W can be simultaneously processed in the upper processing section (the development processing chamber  31 , the coating processing chamber  32  and the upper stage thermal processing portion  303 ) and the lower processing section (the development processing chamber  33 , the coating processing chamber  34  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304 ). This improves throughput of the second processing block  13  without increasing the transport speed of the substrates W by the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138 . The transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  are provided one above the other, thus preventing an increase of footprint of the substrate processing apparatus  100 . 
         [0156]    While the substrates W are subjected to the cooling processing in the cooling unit CP before the development processing of the substrates W in the development processing chamber  31  in the foregoing example, the substrates W may not be subjected to the cooling processing in the cooling unit CP before the development processing if the development processing can be properly  performed. 
         [0157]    (6-4) Operations of the Cleaning/Drying Processing Block  14 A and the Carry-In/Carry-Out Block  14 B 
         [0158]    Description will be made of the operations of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B mainly referring to  FIGS. 5 and 7 . 
         [0159]    In the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A, the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) takes out the substrate W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  by the transport mechanism  137  ( FIG. 5 ) using the hand H 3 . 
         [0160]    Next, the transport mechanism  141  takes out the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing from the predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  ( FIG. 7 ) using the hand H 4 . The transport mechanism  141  carries the substrate W after the edge exposure held by the hand H 3  to the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1. 
         [0161]    The transport mechanism  141  subsequently places the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing held by the hand H 4  in the placement/cooling section P-CP ( FIG. 5 ). In the placement/cooling section P-CP, the substrate W is cooled to a temperature suitable for the exposure processing in the exposure device  15  ( FIG. 1 ). 
         [0162]    The transport mechanism  141  then takes out the substrate W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  by the transport mechanism  138  ( FIG. 5 ) using the hand H 3 . The transport mechanism  141  then takes out the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing from the predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  ( FIG. 7 ) using the hand H 4 . The transport mechanism  141  carries the substrate W after the edge exposure held by the hand H 3  in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1. Next, the transport mechanism  141  places the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing held by the hand H 4  in the placement/cooling section P-CP ( FIG. 5 ). In this manner, the transport mechanism  141  alternately transports the substrates W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  to the placement/cooling sections P-CP via the cleaning/drying processing section  161 . 
         [0163]    Here, the substrates W housed in the carrier  113  ( FIG. 5 ) are alternately transported to the substrate platforms PASS 1 , PASS 3  ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  115  ( FIG. 5 ). In addition, the processing speed of the substrates W in the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22  ( FIG. 2 ) and the upper stage thermal processing portion  301  ( FIG. 3 ) is substantially equal to that in the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24  ( FIG. 2 ) and the lower stage thermal processing portion  302  ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0164]    Furthermore, the operation speed of the transport mechanism  127  ( FIG. 5 ) is substantially equal to that of the transport mechanism  128  ( FIG. 5 ). The processing speed of the substrates W in the development processing chamber  31 , the coating processing chamber  32  ( FIG. 2 ) and the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  ( FIG. 3 ) is substantially equal to that in the development processing chamber  33 , the coating processing chamber  34  ( FIG. 2 ) and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  ( FIG. 3 ). The operation speed of the transport mechanism  137  ( FIG. 5 ) is substantially equal to that of the transport mechanism  138  ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0165]    As described above, the substrates W are alternately transported by the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) from the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  ( FIG. 5 ) to the placement/cooling sections P-CP, so that the order of the substrates W carried from the carriers  113  into the substrate processing apparatus  100  coincides with the order of the substrates W transported from the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A into the placement/cooling sections P-CP ( FIG. 5 ). In this case, the processing history of each substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus  100  is easily controlled. 
         [0166]    The transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 7 ) takes out the substrate W after the exposure processing placed in the substrate platform PASS 9  ( FIG. 5 ) by the hand H 5 . Next, the transport mechanism  142  takes out the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing from the predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  ( FIG. 7 ) using the hand H 6 . The transport mechanism  142  carries the substrate W after the exposure processing held by the hand H 5  in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD2. 
         [0167]    Next, the transport mechanism  142  transports the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing held by the hand H 6  to the thermal processing unit PHP ( FIG. 7 ) of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303 . Post exposure bake (PEB) processing is performed in the thermal processing unit PHP. 
         [0168]    The transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 7 ) subsequently takes out the substrate W after the exposure processing placed on the substrate platform PASS 9  ( FIG. 5 ) using the hand H 5 . Next, the transport mechanism  142  takes out the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing from the predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  ( FIG. 7 ) using the hand H 6 . The transport mechanism  142  carries the substrate W after the exposure processing held by the hand H 5  in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD2. 
         [0169]    The transport mechanism  142  then transports the substrate W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing held by the hand H 6  to the thermal processing unit PHP ( FIG. 7 ) of the lower stage thermal processing portion  304 . The PEB processing is performed in the thermal processing unit PHP. 
         [0170]    In this manner, the transport mechanism  142  alternately transports the substrates W after the exposure processing placed in the substrate platform PASS 9  to the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  and the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  via the cleaning/drying processing section  162 . 
         [0171]    In the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B, the transport mechanism  146  ( FIG. 5 ) takes out the substrate W placed in the placement/cooling section P-CP using the hand H 7 , and transports the substrate W to the substrate carry-in section  15   a  of the exposure device  15 . In addition, the transport mechanism  146  takes out the substrate W after the exposure processing from the substrate carry-out section  15   b  of the exposure device  15  using the hand H 8 , and transports the substrate W to the substrate platform PASS 9 . 
         [0172]    Here, as described above, the order of the substrates W placed in the placement/cooling sections P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) is equal to the order of the substrates W carried from the carriers  113  ( FIG. 5 ) into the substrate processing apparatus  100 . This allows the order of the substrates W carried from the carriers  113  into the substrate processing apparatus  100  to coincide with the order of the substrates W carried in the exposure device  15  by the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 7 ). Accordingly, the processing history of each substrate W in the exposure device  15  is easily controlled. In addition, variation in the state of the exposure processing among the plurality of substrates W carried from one carrier  113  to the substrate processing apparatus  100  can be prevented. 
         [0173]    Note that when the exposure device  15  cannot receive the substrate W, the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) causes the substrates W after the cleaning processing and the drying processing to be temporarily housed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 . 
         [0174]    Moreover, when the development processing unit  139  ( FIG. 2 ) of the second processing block  13  cannot receive the substrate W after the exposure processing, the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  ( FIG. 5 ) cause the substrates W after the PEB processing to be temporarily housed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 . 
         [0175]    When the substrates W are not normally transported to the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  due to malfunction or the like of the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13 , transportation of the substrates W from the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  by the transport mechanism  141  may be temporarily stopped until the transportation of the substrates W is normalized. 
         [0176]    (7) Details of the Placement/Buffer Sections 
         [0177]    Next, description will be made of the detailed configurations of the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 .  FIGS. 8 and 9  are a perspective view and a side view showing the appearance of the placement/buffer section P-BF 1 .  FIG. 10  is a plan view for explaining an operation of carrying the substrate W in and out of the placement/buffer section P-BF 1 . Note that the configuration of the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  is the same as that of the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  shown in  FIGS. 8 to 10 . 
         [0178]    As shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , frames  911 ,  912  extending in the vertical direction (the Z direction) are provided in a boundary portion between the second processing block  13  ( FIG. 1 ) and the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. The placement/buffer section P-BF 1  has a pair of fixing members  91  extending in the vertical direction and a plurality of support plates  92 . The pair of fixing members  91  is attached to the frames  911 ,  912 , respectively. 
         [0179]    A plurality of convex portions  921  projecting in the transverse direction (the X direction) are provided in each fixing member  91  at regular intervals in the vertical direction. One ends of the plurality of support plates  92  are fixed to upper surfaces and lower surfaces of the convex portions  921  of one fixing member  91 , respectively, and the other ends of the plurality of support plates  92  are fixed to upper surfaces and lower surfaces of the convex portions  921  of the other fixing member  91 , respectively. This causes the plurality of support plates  92  to be horizontally arranged at equal intervals in the vertical direction. 
         [0180]    A plurality of (three in this example) support pins  93  are provided on an upper surface of each support plate  92 . The substrate W is supported by the plurality of support pins  93  on each support plate  92 . In this manner, the plurality of substrates W can be housed in the placement/buffer section P-BF 1 . 
         [0181]    As shown in  FIG. 10  ( a ) to ( c ), the hands H 1 , H 2  of the transport mechanism  137  ( FIG. 5 ), the hands H 3 , H 4  of the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) and the hands H 5 , H 6  of the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 7 ) each have a substantially U-shape. 
         [0182]    This allows the hands H 1  to H 6  of the transport mechanisms  137 ,  141 ,  142  to place the substrate W on the support pins  93  and receive the substrate W from a portion above the support pins  93  without interfering the frames  911 ,  912  and the support pins  93 . 
         [0183]    As described above, the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  is configured such that the substrates W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanisms  137 ,  141 ,  142 . Similarly, the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  is configured such that the substrates W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanisms  138 ,  141 ,  142 . 
         [0184]    Note that the substrate platform PASS 9  ( FIG. 5 ) may be configured in the same manner as the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 . 
         [0185]    (8) Details of the Placement/Cooling Section 
         [0186]    Description will be made of the detailed configuration of the placement/cooling sections P-CP.  FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing the appearance of the placement/cooling sections P-CP.  FIG. 12  is a diagram of the placement/cooling sections P-CP that are seen from the +X direction.  FIG. 13  is a schematic transverse sectional view of the placement/cooling section P-CP.  FIG. 14  is a schematic sectional view for explaining an operation of carrying the substrate W in and out of the placement/cooling section P-CP.  FIGS. 11 and 12  show the three placement/cooling sections P-CP that are vertically stacked. 
         [0187]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , each placement/cooling section P-CP has a housing  95 . The housing  95  includes an upper surface portion  95   a,  a lower surface portion  95   b,  a front surface portion  95   c,  a rear surface portion  95   d  and side surface portions  95   e,    95   f.  The upper surface portion  95   a  and the lower surface portion  95   b  are in parallel with the XY plane, and the front surface portion  95   c  and the rear surface portion  95   d  are in parallel with the YZ plane. 
         [0188]    The side surface portions  95   e,    95   f  extend along the XZ plane from both ends of the rear surface portion  95   d,  respectively, and are bent inward so as to be close to each other to be integrated with both ends of the front surface portion  95   c,  respectively. 
         [0189]    A substrate carry-in opening  951  extending in the transverse direction is formed in the side surface portion  95   e,  and a substrate carry-in opening  952  (see  FIG. 13 , described below) extending in the transverse direction is formed in the side surface portion  95   f.  As shown in  FIG. 12 , a substrate carry-out opening  953  extending in the transverse direction (the Y direction) is formed in the rear surface portion  95   d.    
         [0190]    As shown in  FIG. 13 , a cooling plate  954  is provided inside each housing  95 . The cooling plate  954  is cooled by a cooling mechanism that is not shown. A plurality of (three in this example) support pins  955  are provided on the cooling plate  954 . The substrate W is placed on the support pins  955 . 
         [0191]    Note that shutters for opening/closing the substrate carry-in openings  951 ,  952  and the substrate carry-out opening  953  may be provided. 
         [0192]    As shown in  FIG. 14  ( a ), the hands H 3 , H 4  of the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 7 ) can enter the housing  95  from the substrate carry-in opening  951 , and place the substrate W on the support pins  955 . As shown in  FIG. 14  ( b ), the hands H 5 , H 6  of the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 7 ) can enter the housing  95  from the substrate carry-in opening  952 , and place the substrate W on the support pins  955 . 
         [0193]    As shown in  FIG. 14  ( c ), the hands H 7 , H 8  of the transport mechanisms  146  ( FIG. 5 ) can enter the housing  95  from the substrate carry-out opening  953 , and hold and carry the substrate W on the support pins  955  out of the placement/cooling section P-CP. 
         [0194]    In this manner, the placement/cooling section P-CP is configured such that the substrate W can be carried in and out by the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  and  146 . 
         [0195]    As described above, the substrate W is carried in the placement/cooling section P-CP by the hand H 4  of the transport mechanism  141  in the present embodiment. The substrate W placed on the support pins  955  is cooled to the temperature suitable for the exposure processing by the cooling plate  954 . Then, the substrate W after the cooling processing is carried out of the placement/cooling section P-CP by the hand H 7  of the transport mechanism  146  ( FIG. 7 ). 
         [0196]    (9) Effects of the Present Embodiment 
         [0197]    (9-1) 
         [0198]    The transport mechanism  141  can transport the substrates W among the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 , the cleaning/drying processing section  161  and the placement/cooling sections P-CP, and the transport mechanism  142  can transport the substrates W among the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 , the cleaning/drying processing section  162 , the thermal processing section  133  and the placement/cooling sections P-CP in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A in the present embodiment. 
         [0199]    This allows a wider choice of transport paths of the substrates W to be available in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. Accordingly, the substrates can be transported through optimum paths depending on how the substrates W are to be processed in the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13  and the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162 . This allows transport efficiency of the substrates W to be increased, resulting in improved throughput. 
         [0200]    (9-2) 
         [0201]    In the present embodiment, the substrates W before the exposure processing are transported by the transport mechanism  141 , and the substrates W after the exposure processing are transported by the transport mechanism  142  in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A. Moreover, the substrates W before the exposure processing are transported by the hand H 7  of the transport mechanism  146 , and the substrates W after the exposure processing are transported by  the hand H 8  of the transport mechanism  146  in the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. 
         [0202]    In this manner, respective transport paths are independently ensured for the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. In this case, the operations of the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142 ,  146  are more simplified than the case of complicated transport paths for the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing. This allows transport efficiency of the substrates W to be increased, resulting in improved throughput. 
         [0203]    (9-3) 
         [0204]    In the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A, the substrates W before the exposure processing are transported from the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  to the placement/cooling sections P-CP via the cleaning/drying processing section  161  by the transport mechanism  141 , and the substrates W after the exposure processing are transported from the substrate platform PASS 9  to the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  or the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  via the cleaning/drying processing section  162  by the transport mechanism  142 . Moreover, the substrates W before the exposure processing are transported from the placement/cooling section P-CP to the exposure device  15  by the hand H 7  of the transport mechanism  146 , and the substrates W after the exposure processing are transported from the exposure device  15  to the substrate platform PASS 9  by the hand H 8  of the transport mechanism  146  in the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. 
         [0205]    Thus, the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing are not brought into indirect contact with one another in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A and the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B. This prevents cross-contamination between the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing. 
         [0206]    (9-4) 
         [0207]    Furthermore, the respective transport paths are independently provided for the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing, so that the substrates W after the exposure processing can be smoothly transported to the thermal processing units PHP of the second processing block  13 . 
         [0208]    Thus, the substrates W can be quickly subjected to the PEB processing after the exposure processing. As a result, a chemical reaction within the resist film can be immediately promoted to allow a desired exposure pattern to be obtained. In addition, a time period from the exposure processing to the PEB processing can be made substantially constant when the plurality of substrates W are successively processed. This results in prevention of variation in the accuracy of the exposure pattern. 
         [0209]    (9-5) 
         [0210]    Moreover, the transport mechanisms  137 ,  141 ,  142  can carry the substrates W in and out of the placement/buffer section P-BF 1 , and the transport mechanisms  138 ,  141 ,  142  can carry the substrates W in and out of the placement/buffer section P-BF 2 . Accordingly, the substrates W can be housed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  at various timings before and after the exposure processing. As a result, timings at which the substrates W are transported by the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138 ,  141 ,  142  can be easily adjusted. 
         [0211]    Furthermore, the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142 ,  146  can carry the substrates W in and out of the substrate platform PASS 9  and the placement/cooling sections P-CP. In this case, the substrates W can be carried in and out of the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2 , the substrate platforms PASS 9  and the placement/cooling sections P-CP from three directions, so that the transport paths of the substrates W can be easily changed. 
         [0212]    (9-6) 
         [0213]    In the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13 , the plurality of substrates W can be concurrently processed in the processing section on the upper stage (the coating processing chambers  21 ,  22 ,  32 , the development processing chamber  31  ( FIG. 2 ), the upper stage transport chambers  125 ,  135  ( FIG. 5 ) and the upper stage thermal processing portions  301 ,  303  ( FIG. 3 )) and the processing section on lower stage (the coating processing chambers  23 ,  24 ,  34 , the development processing chamber  33  ( FIG. 2 ), the lower stage transport chambers  126 ,  136  ( FIG. 5 ) and the lower stage thermal processing portions  302 ,  304  ( FIG. 3 )). 
         [0214]    Accordingly, the throughput of the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13  can be improved without increasing the transport speed of the substrates W by the transport mechanisms  127 ,  128 ,  137 ,  138 . Moreover, the transport mechanisms  127 ,  128  are provided one above the other and the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  are provided one above the other, thus preventing the increase of footprint of the substrate processing apparatus  100 . 
         [0215]    (9-7) 
         [0216]    The processing section on the upper stage and the processing section on the lower stage in the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13  have the equal configurations. Thus, even when a failure or the like occurs in one of the processing section on the upper stage and the processing section on the lower stage, the processing of the substrates W can be continued in the other processing section. This results in improved flexibility of the substrate processing apparatus  100 . 
         [0217]    (9-8) 
         [0218]    In the cleaning/drying processing units SD1, the substrates W before the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing, so that part of components of the resist cover film on the substrates W are eluted to be washed. Therefore, even though the substrates W come in contact with a liquid in the exposure device  15 , the components of the resist cover film on the substrates W are hardly eluted in the liquid. Moreover, dust or the like adhering to the substrates W before the exposure processing can be removed. As a result, contamination in the exposure device  15  is prevented. 
         [0219]    (9-9) 
         [0220]    The liquid that has adhered to the substrates W during the cleaning processing is removed by subjecting the substrates W after the cleaning processing to the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD1, so that dust or the like in the atmosphere is prevented from again adhering to the substrates W after the cleaning processing. As a result, contamination in the exposure device  15  can be reliably prevented. 
         [0221]    (9-10) 
         [0222]    The substrates W after the exposure processing are subjected to the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD2, thereby preventing a liquid that has adhered to the substrates W during the exposure processing from dropping in the substrate processing apparatus  100 . In addition, the substrates W after the exposure processing are subjected to the drying processing to prevent dust or the like in the atmosphere from adhering to the substrates W after the exposure processing. Thus, contamination of the substrates W can be prevented. 
         [0223]    The substrates W to which the liquid has adhered can be prevented from being transported to the substrate processing apparatus  100  to inhibit the liquid that has adhered to the substrates W during the exposure processing from affecting the atmosphere in the substrate processing apparatus  100 . This causes the temperature and humidity in the substrate processing apparatus  100  to be easily adjusted. 
         [0224]    (9-11) 
         [0225]    The liquid that has adhered to the substrates W during the exposure processing are prevented from adhering to the transport mechanisms  116 ,  127 ,  128 ,  137 ,  138 ,  141 ,  142 . Therefore, the liquid is prevented from adhering to the substrates W before the exposure processing. Thus, dust or the like in the atmosphere is prevented from adhering to the substrates W before the exposure processing, so that contamination of the substrate W is prevented. As a result, degradation in resolution performance at the time of the exposure processing can be prevented and contamination in the exposure device  15  can be prevented. In addition, components of the resist or components of the resist cover film can be reliably prevented from being eluted in the liquid that remains on the substrates W while the substrates W are transported from the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 to the development processing chambers  31 ,  33 . This prevents deformation of the exposure patterns formed on the resist films. As a result, degradation in accuracy of line width during the development processing can be reliably prevented. 
         [0226]    (10) Modifications 
         [0227]    Description will be made of modifications of the above-described embodiment. 
         [0228]    (10-1) First Modification 
         [0229]    A first modification is described while referring to differences from the foregoing embodiment.  FIG. 15  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A in the first modification. Note that  FIG. 15  is a diagram of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A that is seen from the +X direction. 
         [0230]    As shown in  FIG. 15 , the plurality of (four in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD1 are provided in each of the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  in the first modification. 
         [0231]    One example of the transport paths of the substrates W in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A of  FIG. 15  is described mainly referring to  FIGS. 5 and 15 . 
         [0232]    The substrate W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  by the transport mechanism  137  ( FIG. 5 ) is transported to a predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  by the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 15 ). The substrate W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  is transported to the placement/cooling section P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  141 . 
         [0233]    The substrate W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  by the transport mechanism  138  ( FIG. 5 ) is transported to a predetermined cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  by the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 15 ). The substrate W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  is transported to the placement/cooling section P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0234]    The substrates W after the exposure processing placed in the substrate platform PASS 9  by the transport mechanism  146  ( FIG. 5 ) are transported to the thermal processing unit PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  and the thermal processing unit PHP of the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  by the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 15 ) 
         [0235]    As described above, the substrates W before the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in both the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  in the first modification. This improves the efficiency of the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W before the exposure processing. Accordingly, when the cleaning processing and the drying processing after the exposure processing are not required, a significant number of substrates W can be more quickly processed. 
         [0236]    Note that the back surfaces and ends of the substrates W are subjected to the cleaning processing in some cases during the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W before the exposure processing, as described above. In the case, a processing time period is increased to degrade the throughput. 
         [0237]    Therefore, the substrates W before the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in both the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  as described in this example, thereby suppressing the degradation of the throughput due to the increase of the processing time period. 
         [0238]    In the first modification, one of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W before the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142 , and the other of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W after the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142 . In this case, the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing are prevented from coming in indirect contact with one another through the transport mechanism  142 . This inhibits cross-contamination between the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing. 
         [0239]    (10-2) Second Modification 
         [0240]    A second modification is described while referring to differences from the foregoing embodiment.  FIG. 16  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A in the second modification. Note that  FIG. 16  is a diagram of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A that is seen from the +X direction. 
         [0241]    As shown in  FIG. 16 , the plurality of (five in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD2 are provided in each of the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  in the second modification. 
         [0242]    One example of the transport paths of the substrates W in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A of  FIG. 16  is described mainly referring to  FIGS. 5 and 16 . 
         [0243]    The substrates W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  by the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  ( FIG. 5 ) are transported to the placement/cooling sections P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142  ( FIG. 16 ). 
         [0244]    The substrates W after the exposure processing placed in the substrate platform PASS 9  by the transport mechanism  146  ( FIG. 5 ) are transported to the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  by the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 16 ) or transported to the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0245]    The substrates W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  are transported to the substrate platform PASS 9  ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  141 . The substrates W transported to the substrate platform PASS 9  are transported to the thermal processing units PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  or the thermal processing units PHP of the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  by the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 16 ). 
         [0246]    The substrates W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  are transported to the thermal processing units PHP of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  or the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0247]    In this manner, the substrates W after the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in both the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162  in the second modification. This improves the efficiency of the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W after the exposure processing. Accordingly, when the cleaning processing and the drying processing before the exposure processing are not required, a significant number of substrates W can be more quickly processed. 
         [0248]    In addition, one of the hands H 3 , H 4  may be used in transportation of the substrates W before the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  141 , the other of the hands H 3 , H 4  may be used in transportation of the substrates W after the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  141 , one of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W before the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142 , and the other of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W after the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142  in the second modification. In this case, the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing are prevented from coming in indirect contact with one another through the transport mechanisms  141 ,  142 . This prevents cross-contamination between the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing. 
         [0249]    (10-3) Third Modification 
         [0250]    A third modification is described while referring to differences from the foregoing embodiment.  FIG. 17  is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A in the third modification. Note that  FIG. 17  is a diagram of the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A that is seen from the +X direction. 
         [0251]    As shown in  FIG. 17 , the plurality of (four in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD1 are provided in the cleaning/drying processing section  161 , and one or a plurality of (one in this example) cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 and the plurality of (four in this example) cleaning/drying processing units SD2 are provided in the cleaning/drying processing section  162  in the third modification. 
         [0252]    One example of the transport paths of the substrates W in the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A is described mainly referring to  FIGS. 5 and 17 . 
         [0253]    The substrates W after the edge exposure placed in the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  by the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  ( FIG. 5 ) are transported to the cleaning/drying processing units SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  by the transport mechanism  141  ( FIG. 17 ) or transported to the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0254]    The substrates W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  161  are transported to the placement/cooling sections P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  141 . Moreover, the substrates W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  ( FIG. 17 ) are transported to the placement/cooling sections P-CP ( FIG. 5 ) by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0255]    The substrates W after the exposure processing placed in the substrate platform PASS 9  by the transport mechanism  146  ( FIG. 5 ) are transported to the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  by the transport mechanism  142  ( FIG. 17 ). The substrates W subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 of the cleaning/drying processing section  162  are transported to the thermal processing units PHP ( FIG. 17 ) of the upper stage thermal processing portion  303  or the lower stage thermal processing portion  304  by the transport mechanism  142 . 
         [0256]    As described above, the substrates W before the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in both the cleaning/drying processing sections  161 ,  162 , and the substrates W after the exposure processing are subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing in the cleaning/drying processing section  162  in the third modification. 
         [0257]    As described above, the processing time period is increased when the back surfaces and ends of the substrates W are subjected to the cleaning processing during the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W before the exposure processing. Thus, a longer time period is required for the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W before the exposure processing than a time period required for the cleaning processing and the drying processing of the substrates W after the exposure processing. Therefore, as described in this example, the larger number of the cleaning/drying processing units SD1 than the number of the cleaning/drying processing units SD2 allows the substrates W before and after the exposure processing to be efficiently subjected to the cleaning processing and the drying processing. 
         [0258]    The cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 is increased in size if a mechanism for subjecting the back surfaces and ends of the substrates W to the cleaning processing is provided in the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1. This inhibits provision of a large number of cleaning/drying processing units SD1 in the cleaning/drying processing section  161 . Therefore, the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 is provided also in the cleaning/drying processing section  162  to ensure a sufficient number of cleaning/drying processing units SD1. 
         [0259]    In the third modification, one of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W before the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142 , and the other of the hands H 5 , H 6  may be used in transportation of the substrates W after the exposure processing by the transport mechanism  142 . In this case, the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing are prevented from coming in indirect contact with one another through the transport mechanism  142 . This prevents cross-contamination between the substrates W before the exposure processing and the substrates W after the exposure processing. 
         [0260]    (10-4) Other Modifications 
         [0261]    Another unit may be provided instead of the cleaning/drying processing units SD1, SD2. For example, a unit for testing the presence/absence of contamination in the ends of the substrates W before and after the exposure processing may be provided, and a unit for testing states of the films on the substrates W before and after the exposure processing may be provided. 
         [0262]    (11) Correspondences between Elements in the Claims and Parts in Embodiments 
         [0263]    In the following paragraphs, non-limiting examples of correspondences between various elements recited in the claims below and those described above with respect to various preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained. 
         [0264]    In the foregoing embodiments, the first and second processing blocks  12 ,  13  are examples of a processing section, the interface block  14  is an example of an interface, the placement/buffer sections P-BF 1 , P-BF 2  are examples of a first placement section, the placement/cooling section P-CP and the substrate platform PASS 9  are examples of a second placement section, the cleaning/drying processing section  161  is an example of a first processing region, and the cleaning/drying processing section  162  is an example of a second processing region. 
         [0265]    The hands H 3 , H 4 , H 7  of the transport mechanisms  141 ,  146  are examples of a first  substrate transport mechanism, the hands H 5 , H 6 , H 8  of the transport mechanisms  142 ,  146  are examples of a second substrate transport mechanism, the cleaning/drying processing unit SD1 is an example of a cleaning processing unit, the cleaning/drying processing unit SD2 is an example of a drying processing unit, the cleaning/drying processing block  14 A is an example of a processing block, the carry-in/carry-out block  14 B is an example of a carry-in/carry-out block, the hands H 3 , H 4  of the transport mechanism  141  are examples of a first substrate holder, the hand H 7  of the transport mechanism  146  is an example of a second substrate holder, the hands H 5 , H 6  of the transport mechanism  142  are examples of a third substrate holder, the hand H 8  of the transport mechanism  146  is an example of a fourth substrate holder, the X direction is an example of a first direction, and the Y direction is an example of a second direction. 
         [0266]    The coating processing chambers  32 ,  34  and the development processing chambers  31 ,  33  are examples of a plurality of processing chambers, the coating processing unit  129  and the development processing unit  139  are examples of a plurality of liquid processing units, the upper stage transport chamber  135  is an example of a first transport chamber, the lower stage transport chamber  136  is an example of a second transport chamber, the transport mechanisms  137 ,  138  are examples of a plurality of transport mechanisms for transport chambers, the coating processing chamber  32  and the development processing chamber  31  are examples of a first processing chamber group, the coating processing chamber  34  and the development processing chamber  33  are examples of a second processing chamber group, the placement/buffer section P-BF 1  is an example of a first placement portion, the placement/buffer section P-BF 2  is an example of a second placement portion, the transport mechanism  137  is an example of a first in-chamber transport mechanism, and the transport mechanism  138  is an example of a second in-chamber transport mechanism. 
         [0267]    As each of various elements recited in the claims, various other elements having configurations or functions described in the claims can be also used. 
         [0268]    While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8