Patent ID: 8722152

Claim:
A wet processing method to be carried out by a wet processing apparatus for processing substrates by pouring onto substrates a processing liquid supplied by a processing liquid supply system, including 2n processing units arranged in a lateral row, including 2n substrate holders for supporting a substrate in a horizontal position and 2n splash cups respectively surrounding the substrate holders, wherein the processing units are divided into a first group of n processing units on the left side and a second group of n processing units on the right side and where n is an integer not smaller than 2; a first nozzle unit to be used exclusively for processing substrates by the n processing units of the first group in a normal processing mode; a first nozzle support mechanism supporting the first nozzle unit and capable of moving the first nozzle unit to all the 2n processing units; a second nozzle unit to be used exclusively for processing substrates by the n processing units of the second group in the normal processing mode; a second nozzle support mechanism supporting the second nozzle unit and capable of moving the second nozzle unit to all the 2n processing units; a substrate carrying mechanism for transferring a substrate to and receiving a substrate from the substrate holders; said wet processing method comprising the steps of: pouring the processing liquid through the first nozzle unit onto substrates supported on the substrate holders of the processing units of the first group in the normal processing mode; pouring the processing liquid through the second nozzle unit onto substrates supported on the substrate holders of the processing units of the second group in the normal processing mode; transferring substrates alternately to the processing unit of the first group and that of the second group so as to use the processing units of the first and the second group in order; and either laterally moving the first nozzle unit for the processing units of the first group to use the first nozzle unit for processing substrates by the serviceable ones of the processing units of the second group when the substrate holders of the processing unit of the second group, the processing liquid supply system, or the second nozzle support mechanism is unserviceable or laterally moving the second nozzle unit for the processing units of the second group to use the second nozzle unit for processing substrates by the serviceable ones of the processing units of the first group when the substrate holders of the processing unit of first group, the processing liquid supply system, or the first nozzle support mechanism is unserviceable.