Patent ID: 8851819

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus comprising a loading and unloading part provided to load and unload a transfer container of a plurality of transfer containers containing substrates, and a processing part provided to perform a treatment to a substrate removed from the transfer container loaded into the loading and unloading part, said loading and unloading part including: an outer housing of said substrate processing apparatus; a first load port arranged outside the outer housing and having a plurality of first container tables, wherein the first container tables are arrayed in a row parallel with a first transfer path to allow a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers containing substrates to be loaded and unloaded to and from a first container table of said plurality of first container tables by a first transfer apparatus provided to move along the first transfer path above the first container tables; a second load port arranged outside the outer housing and having a plurality of second container tables, wherein the second container tables are arrayed in a row parallel with a second transfer path to allow a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers containing substrates to be loaded and unloaded to and from a second container table of said plurality of second container tables by a second transfer apparatus provided to move along the second transfer path above the second container tables, wherein an array of the second container tables is disposed in parallel with an array of the first container tables, behind the array of the first container tables, and at a level higher than the array of the first container tables; a table moving mechanism configured to horizontally move each of the first container tables between a front position where the first container table is in the first load port and a rear position where the first container table is located within the outer housing; a third container table arranged in the outer housing for placing a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers thereon; a substrate transfer mechanism configured to remove a substrate of said substrates to be subjected to the treatment in the processing part from a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers placed on the third container table; a container storing part disposed in the outer housing and provided therein with a plurality of fourth container tables, each for placing a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers thereon, wherein some of the fourth container tables are located vertically between the first container tables in the rear position and the second container tables; and a container transfer mechanism configured to place and remove a transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers to and from the first, second, third and fourth container tables and transfer the transfer container of said plurality of transfer containers between the tables, which are respectively located at different positions.