Patent ID: 6936134

Claim:
An apparatus disposed adjacent to a main transfer mechanism for processing a substrate one by one, comprising: a heating process chamber in which a heating process is performed one by one for the substrate; a load lock chamber, integrally connected to the heating process chamber in a predetermined direction, having an opening closable with a shutter allowing the substrate to be transferred between the main transfer mechanism and the load lock chamber, and controlling at least oxygen concentration and pressure; a transferring arm, having a temperature adjusting portion adjusting a temperature of the substrate placed thereon, capable of moving between the heating process chamber and the load lock chamber, transferring the substrate one by one within the integrally connected zone of the heating process chamber and the load lock chamber, and allowing the main transfer mechanism to collect the substrate placed on the temperature adjusting portion of the transferring arm through the opening, and a gate valve shielding the integrally connected heating process chamber from the load lock chamber, wherein the heating process chamber comprises: a supplier supplying an inert gas to the heating process chamber; a pressure reducing portion reducing a pressure inside the heating chamber; and a controller controlling the supplier and the pressure reducing portion so that the oxygen concentration of the heating process chamber decreases at a velocity in the range from around 6000 ppm/second to 20000 ppm/second.