Patent ID: 8157496

Claim:
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a cassette placing table for receiving a plurality of cassettes for each housing a substrate, placed in a predetermined arrangement direction; a first transfer mechanism, having a first substrate holding hand which is capable of advancing and retreating with respect to a cassette placed on the cassette placing table, for transferring a substrate with respect to the cassette with the first substrate holding hand; a substrate processing unit for executing a predetermined process on a substrate; a second transfer mechanism, having a second substrate holding hand which is capable of advancing and retreating with respect to the first transfer mechanism and the substrate processing unit and which is pivotable about a vertical axis, for transferring a substrate with respect to the first transfer mechanism and the substrate processing unit with the second substrate holding hand, the vertical axis being fixed in a predetermined position at all times; a moving mechanism for moving the first transfer mechanism in the predetermined arrangement direction; and a control unit for controlling transfer of a substrate between the first transfer mechanism and the second transfer mechanism in all positions where the first transfer mechanism is opposed to the plurality of cassettes, wherein the control unit is programmed to select any one of a plurality of substrate transfer positions respectively opposed to the plurality of cassettes placed on the cassette placing table, to control the moving mechanism so as to move the first transfer mechanism to the selected substrate transfer position, and to cause the first and second transfer mechanisms to transfer a substrate between the first and second transfer mechanisms with the first transfer mechanism positioned at the selected substrate transfer position, the first and second transfer mechanisms are arranged to transfer a substrate at a position opposed to any one of the plurality of cassettes from which the first transfer mechanism has carried out the substrate.