Patent ID: 7403260

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 process 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 up in layers 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 is stacked up in layers 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 carries a substrate coated with the films from a position on the side of the carrier handling block to a position on the side of the interface block.