Patent ID: 8340811

Claim:
A substrate supporting apparatus, comprising: a pallet configured and positioned to mount one or more substrates; a pallet double-end holding mechanism that is provided in a supporting apparatus body and holds both ends of the pallet in a diameter direction while a substrate mounting surface of the pallet is in a vertical posture; a pallet center holding mechanism that is arranged in a center section of the mounting surface of the pallet and rotatably holds the center section of the pallet; and a moving mechanism that moves the supporting apparatus body, wherein the pallet double-end holding mechanism is a mechanism that grips both ends of the pallet in the diameter direction from both sides of a thickness direction thereof and the pallet double-end holding mechanism holds the pallet during movement of the apparatus body, during delivery between holding by the pallet double-end holding mechanism and the holding by the pallet center holding mechanism, the pallet is held by both of the holding mechanisms, and wherein during substrate processing, the center section of the pallet is rotatably held by the pallet center holding mechanism and the holding by the pallet double-end holding mechanism is released.