Patent ID: 7474377

Claim:
A coating and developing system comprising: a carrier handling block for receiving a carrier containing substrates; a processing block for forming films including a photosensitive film on a substrate received from the carrier handling block, for developing the exposed photosensitive film processed by an exposure system and for returning the substrate to the carrier handling block; an interface block for transferring the substrate from the processing block to the exposure system and transferring the substrate from the exposure system to the processing block; wherein a) the processing block has coating blocks, for forming the films including the photosensitive film on the substrate, extending between the carrier handling block and the interface block, and a developing block stacked as a layer with respect to the coating blocks, b) each of the coating blocks and the developing block is provided with a chemical liquid applying unit for applying a chemical liquid to the substrate, a heating unit for heating the substrate, a cooling unit for cooling the substrate and interblock carrying means for carrying the substrate from one to another of those units, c) a direct carrying means arrangement is stacked as a layer with respect to the coating block and the developing block to carry a substrate directly between the carrier handling block and the interface block, and d) the direct carrying means arrangement that carries a substrate coated with the films from a position on a side of the carrier handling block to a position on a side of the interface block, and further comprising an auxiliary block interposed between the processing block and the interface block and including a unit that carries out a process at a stage after a film has been formed and before an exposure process and/or at a stage after an exposure process has been completed and before a developing process, and transfer arms for carrying a substrate between each of those units and the processing block and between each of those units and the interface block; and wherein the direct carrying means arrangement includes a direct carrying means that passes through the processing block, and a direct carrying means that passes through the auxiliary block.