Patent ID: 8847122

Claim:
A method for transferring a substrate, comprising: providing the substrate on a surface of a first plate, wherein a central position of the first plate is at a first position; moving the first plate in a single direction such that the central position thereof is moved from the first position to a second position in an upper space of a second plate, wherein the upper space of the second plate is within a border of the second plate in a top view; lifting the substrate away from the surface of the first plate; moving the first plate away from the second position; putting the substrate on a surface of the second plate from the upper space; and moving a third plate one-dimensionally between the upper space of the second plate and a third position to move the substrate away from the upper space of the second plate, comprising: lifting the substrate away from the surface of the second plate; moving the third plate into a space between the substrate and the second plate; putting the substrate on a surface of the third plate; and moving the third plate away from the upper space of the second plate and to the third position, wherein the step of lifting the substrate away from the surface of the first plate, the step of putting the substrate on the surface of the second plate, the step of lifting the substrate away from the surface of the second plate and the step of putting the substrate on the surface of the third plate utilize a set of pins that can be stretched out from the surface of the second plate and retracted back, the pins pass a first set of gaps in the first plate during the step of lifting the substrate away from the surface of the first plate and during the step of moving the first plate away from the second position, and pass a second set of gaps in the third plate during the step of moving the third plate into the space between the substrate and the second plate and during the step of putting the substrate on the surface of the third plate, the first and the second plates are hot plates for heating the substrate, the surfaces of the hot plates have different heating temperatures, and the third plate is a cooling plate for cooling the substrate.