Patent ID: 8190281

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a substrate processing unit for performing a process on a plurality of substrates of one lot; a recipe protection unit for prohibiting processing conditions for the process from being changed while the process is being performed on the substrates; a protection cancellation unit for canceling a prohibition of a change in the process to allow the processing conditions to be changed while the process is being performed on the substrates; a modifying unit for modifying the processing conditions; a transfer recipe protection unit for prohibiting transfer of a substrate from the plurality of substrates into the substrate processing unit; a substrate transfer unit for transferring the plurality of substrates; and a determination unit for determining whether a change in substrate transfer conditions, that are required for transferring the substrate from the plurality of substrates, has been prohibited in response to a manipulation from an external device for modifying the processing conditions, wherein, if the change in the substrate transfer conditions has not been prohibited, the determination unit also determines whether the transfer of the substrate from the plurality of substrates into the substrate processing unit has been prohibited, wherein, if the transfer of the substrates into the substrate processing unit has been prohibited, the modifying unit modifies the processing conditions, and wherein the change in the substrate transfer conditions includes a change in a transfer sequence or a transfer route of the substrates from a front opening unified pod accommodating the substrates to a processing chamber of the substrate processing unit.