JPH1140643A - Substrate processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the valid use of a space without damaging the maintenability of a processing unit. SOLUTION: Plural processing units PU1-PU6 are arranged so that a carrying chamber TC, in which a carrying robot TR is housed can be surrounded, and a cluster arrangement type substrate processor is constituted. The plural processing units PU1-PU6 are arranged so that a space for maintenance can be ensured at the upper part or lower, and the adjacent processing units aye unevenly arranged so that one part can be overlapped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing on various substrates to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a thin film pattern is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer").
A substrate processing apparatus for cleaning the surface of a wafer is used. For example, an example of a planar configuration (layout) of a single-wafer cleaning apparatus for cleaning wafers one by one is shown in FIG.

This apparatus is a so-called sequential transfer type apparatus, and a plurality of processing units 1, 2, 3 for sequentially performing processing using a processing liquid (chemical solution or pure water) on a wafer are linearly arranged. ing. A loader unit 5 on which a load cassette accommodating unprocessed wafers is placed is disposed at one end of the row of the plurality of processing units 1, 2, and 3. An unloader unit 6 on which an unload cassette for accommodating a completed wafer is placed. Processing units 1, 2, 3
The chemical liquid supply system 4 is provided along the row of. The chemical liquid supply system 4 supplies necessary processing liquid to each of the processing units 1, 2, and 3. In order to transfer wafers between units, processing units 1 and
Before and after steps 2 and 3, the transfer robot 8 is disposed.

In this sequential transfer type configuration, as described above, the transfer robot 8 is placed between the units 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6.
Therefore, there is a problem that the device space is large and the manufacturing cost is high. In addition, maintenance of the processing units 1, 2, 3 can be performed only from the front (the side opposite to the chemical solution supply system 4) and from above, so that the maintainability is not necessarily good. Furthermore,
It is necessary to secure a space for maintenance work on the front side of the device, so if you try to install multiple devices of the transport type sequentially, a large space will be required, and the space in the clean room will be used effectively. You will not be able to do it.

[0005] FIG. 10 shows another example of a device configuration which solves these problems. This apparatus is called a cluster arrangement type or the like, and has a plurality of processing units 11, 12, and
13, 14, 15 are arranged radially, and chemical liquid supply systems 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a, 15a are provided in association with the respective processing units 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. A loader / unloader unit 16 is further connected to the transfer chamber 10.
An unprocessed wafer is transferred from A to the transfer robot, and a processed wafer is stored in the unload cassette 16B.

[0006] In this configuration, each transfer robot has one center.
Since only one device is provided, the device space is relatively small, and the manufacturing cost does not increase. Each processing unit 11, 12, 13, 1
Maintenance can be performed on the upper and lower sides 4 and 15 from a total of three directions, that is, the upper side and the two side surfaces.

However, in this cluster arrangement type device,
Since a fan-shaped wasted space is generated between the adjacent processing units in plan view, the space efficiency is insufficient. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problem and to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of effectively utilizing a space without impairing maintainability.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first processing unit for processing a substrate, and a first processing unit disposed above the first processing unit. A substrate provided with a plurality of processing units including a second processing unit that is disposed so as to at least partially overlap the first processing unit while securing a space, and that performs processing on the substrate; Processing device.

According to this configuration, since the space is secured above the first processing unit, the maintenance of the first processing unit can be performed from this space. Also,
Since the second processing unit is disposed so as to partially overlap the first processing unit, the first processing unit and the second processing unit may be disposed in a relatively small space in plan view. it can. Therefore, space saving of the device is realized, and a limited space such as in a clean room can be effectively used.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the plurality of processing units are arranged so as to at least partially overlap below the second processing unit while securing a space below the second processing unit. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third processing unit that performs processing on the substrate. According to this configuration, since a space is secured below the second processing unit, maintenance of the second processing unit from below can be performed from this space. Further, the third processing unit includes the second processing unit.
Since the second processing unit and the third processing unit can be arranged in a relatively small space in a plan view, since the second processing unit and the third processing unit are arranged so as to at least partially overlap the lower part of the processing unit, the space can be effectively used. It can be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first processing unit and the third processing unit are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to secure a space between them. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein According to this configuration, the first and third processing units, which are disposed below the second processing unit, are arranged with a space secured between them. Accordingly, maintenance of the first processing unit and the third processing unit from the side can be performed. Therefore, space saving of the device can be realized while maintaining maintainability from the side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a transport mechanism for loading or unloading the substrate from or to the plurality of processing units, wherein the transport mechanism includes substrate holding means for holding the substrate, and the substrate holding means. Elevating means for elevating and lowering means, advancing and retreating means for moving the substrate holding means forward and backward with respect to the plurality of processing units, and moving means for moving the substrate holding means so as to face the front of each of the plurality of processing units. 4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the above.

With this configuration, a substrate can be loaded or unloaded to or from a plurality of processing units. On the other hand, as described above, since the first processing unit and the second processing unit are arranged so as to overlap with each other, the moving distance of the transport mechanism can be short. Therefore, the load on the transport mechanism can be reduced. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of processing units are arranged so as to surround the transport mechanism, and the moving means of the transport mechanism is a rotary moving means for rotating the substrate holding means. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

According to this configuration, since the plurality of processing units are arranged so as to surround the transfer mechanism (cluster type arrangement), the transfer space of the transfer mechanism may be small, and further space saving may be achieved. it can. Also,
In such an arrangement, for example, a fan-shaped space may be created between the first processing unit and the third processing unit. By arranging the second processing unit above this space, for example, The space of the apparatus can be saved while using the fan-shaped space below the processing unit as a space for maintenance.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. This substrate processing apparatus is a single wafer processing type cleaning apparatus for performing a cleaning process on a wafer W as a substrate one by one. This apparatus has a cylindrical transfer chamber TC containing a transfer robot TR (transfer mechanism) at the center, and a plurality (six in this embodiment) of processing units PU surrounding the transfer chamber TC.
1, a PU2, a PU3, a PU4, a PU5, a PU6 (hereinafter collectively referred to as a “processing unit PU”) and a loader / unloader unit LU are arranged radially in a cluster arrangement type. Processing liquid supply boxes SB1, SB2, SB3, SB4, SB5, S in relation to each of the plurality of processing units PU1 to PU6.
B6 are arranged, and these are connected to the processing units PU1 to PU6 via the collective piping group 35, respectively. In the loader / unloader unit LU, a load cassette LC containing unprocessed wafers W and an unload cassette UC containing processed wafers W are arranged.

The plurality of processing units PU1 to PU6 are arranged so as to surround the transfer chamber TC, but the height thereof is not constant, and every other processing units PU1 to PU6 are arranged.
3, PU5 are coupled to the transfer chamber TC at a relatively high position, and every other processing unit PU2, PU4,
The PU 6 is connected to the transfer chamber TC at a relatively low position. That is, the plurality of processing units PU1 to PU
Numerals 6 are arranged stepwise so that adjacent ones are located at different heights. In other words, the arrangement of the processing units PU is determined so that the processing units PU are located above or below the fan-shaped empty space between the adjacent processing units PU.

For example, when the processing unit PU2 is regarded as a first processing unit, the processing unit PU3 secures a space above the first processing unit (PU2) while maintaining the space above the first processing unit (PU2).
It can be regarded as a second processing unit arranged so as to partially overlap above the processing unit (PU2). Further, the processing unit PU4 includes a second processing unit (PU
The third processing unit (PU3) is arranged so as to partially overlap below the second processing unit (PU3) while securing a space below the third processing unit (PU3).
It can be considered a processing unit. In this case, it can be said that the second processing unit (PU3) and the third processing unit (PU4) are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to secure a space on their side.

As can be understood from the plan view of FIG. 1, adjacent processing units PU have overlapping portions and non-overlapping portions in plan view. That is, space efficiency is improved by arranging adjacent processing units PU so as to partially overlap in plan view. At the same time, the adjacent processing unit P
The maintenance space is secured above or below the processing unit PU by arranging the U in steps so as to have portions that do not overlap in plan view. In this embodiment, the processing unit PU is configured to have a rectangular outer shape in plan view, and adjacent processing units PU overlap with each other at a corner of the rectangle, and are provided in a central region of the rectangle. In the area of the upper maintenance panel 41, the adjacent processing units P
U does not overlap each other.

Note that adjacent processing units PU are
The overlapping portions may or may not be in contact in the vertical direction. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the processing unit PU. The processing unit PU has a rectangular parallelepiped processing chamber 2.
1, the transfer chamber TC of the processing chamber 21.
A passage portion 22 for transferring the wafer W to and from the transfer robot TR in the transfer chamber TC is connected to the front side wall facing (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

One end of the passage 22 is connected to the transfer chamber TC. A gate valve 25 configured to move the gate plate member 24 up and down by an air cylinder 23 is disposed in the middle of the passage portion 22. This gate valve 2
5 opens and closes the passage portion 22 by the gate plate member 24,
Except when the wafer W is transferred through the passage portion 22,
The transfer chamber TC and the internal space of the processing unit PU are airtightly shut off.

The passage 22 reaches the internal space of the processing chamber 21 and communicates with the internal space from the side of the processing cup 31 housed in the processing chamber 21.
The processing cup 31 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and is provided with a spin chuck 32 for holding the wafer W horizontally and rotating the wafer W about a vertical axis. In the vicinity of the spin chuck 32, nozzles 33 and 34 for supplying a chemical solution or pure water to the surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 32 are arranged.

A collective piping group 35 including a processing liquid supply pipe and an exhaust pipe is drawn out from the lower surface of the processing chamber 21. On the upper surface, the rear surface, the lower surface, and both side surfaces of the processing chamber 21, an upper maintenance panel 41, a rear maintenance panel 42, a lower maintenance panel 43,
And side maintenance panels 44 and 45, respectively. These maintenance panels 41 to 45
Is attached to the processing chamber 21 by a set screw 48, and can be removed by a maintenance worker when necessary. For example, a rectangular maintenance window (not shown) slightly smaller than the maintenance panel is formed at each position corresponding to the maintenance panels 41 to 45 in the processing chamber 21.
Through this maintenance window, access for maintenance can be made to various parts inside and outside the processing cup 31.

FIG. 4 shows a transfer robot TR in the transfer chamber TC.
FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of FIG. Transfer robot T
R can move a hand 65 (substrate holding means) for holding the wafer W up and down in a vertically extending cylindrical transfer chamber TC, and a rotation axis 50 along the vertical direction.
It is configured to be able to rotate around and to be able to advance and retreat in a direction approaching / separating from the rotation axis 50. Specifically, the transfer robot TR
Are a base 51, an elevation drive unit 52 (elevation means) for elevating and lowering the base 51, and a rotation drive unit 53 (rotational movement means) for rotating the base 51 around a rotation axis 50. And a frog-leg type reciprocating mechanism 54 provided on the base 51, and a reciprocating drive unit 55 for applying a driving force to the reciprocating mechanism 54. The advance / retreat mechanism 54 and the advance / retreat drive unit 55 correspond to advance / retreat means.

The reciprocating mechanism 54 includes a pair of legs 6 each having one end rotatably mounted on a shaft 56 erected on the base 51.
1,62. The other ends of the pair of legs 61 and 62 are rotatably attached to the hand 65.
Each of the legs 61 and 62 has joints 61a and 62a near the middle thereof. By opening / closing the portions of the pair of legs 61 and 62 connected to the shaft 56, the joints 61a and 62a bend and stretch, and accordingly,
The hand 65 advances and retreats in the direction of the arrow 67.

With the above configuration, the transport robot TR
Can move the hand 65 in front of an arbitrary processing unit PU by ascending, descending, rotating and moving forward and backward,
This hand 65 is connected to the processing unit PU via the passage 22.
, The wafer W is loaded into the processing unit PU, and the wafer W is transferred from the processing unit PU.
Can be carried out. Similarly, the transfer robot TR can cause the hand 65 to face the load cassette LC or the unload cassette UC of the loader / unloader unit LU, and move the hand 65 to the cassette LC, U.
C, the unprocessed wafer W is taken out of the load cassette LC, or the processed wafer W
Can be stored in an unload cassette.

As described above, according to this embodiment, spaces for maintenance are secured above, below, on the side and behind each processing unit PU, so that maintenance can be performed with good workability. be able to. In addition, since the adjacent processing units PU are arranged up and down so as to partially overlap each other, a large number of processing units PU can be connected to the transfer chamber TC by efficiently using the space. In particular, in the cluster arrangement type device as in this embodiment, the space above the fan-shaped wasteful space can be effectively used. As a result, the space in the clean room can be effectively used.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining an example of a processing flow by the substrate processing apparatus. For example, 6
Every other processing unit PU1, PU3, PU5 of the processing units PU uses buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) as a chemical, and performs a chemical cleaning process while supplying the chemical to the surface of the wafer W ( MTC)
It is said. On the other hand, every other alternate processing unit PU
2, PU4 and PU6 are water washing / drying processing units (DTCs) for washing away the chemical liquid adhering to the surface of the wafer W after the chemical liquid processing with pure water, and rotating the wafer W at a high speed to drain and dry. You.

The transfer robot TR includes a load cassette LC.
One unprocessed wafer W is taken out of the wafer, and this wafer W is placed in one of the chemical processing units PU1, PU3, PU5.
And carry it in. In the chemical processing unit into which the wafer W has been loaded, cleaning using the chemical is performed. When the chemical cleaning process is completed, the transfer robot TR receives the wafer W from the chemical processing unit, and carries the wafer W into any of the washing / drying processing units PU2, PU4, and PU6. In the rinsing / drying processing unit into which the wafer W is loaded, the rinsing processing and the draining / drying processing are performed as described above. Thereafter, the transfer robot TR takes out the dried wafer W and stores it in the unload cassette UC.

FIG. 6 is a simplified plan view for explaining another example of the processing flow of the substrate processing apparatus. In this example, the processing units PU1 and PU4 use buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) as a chemical, and
Chemical treatment unit (M
TC). Further, the processing units PU2 and PU
5 is SC-1 (ammonia peroxide (NH ₄ OH + H ₂ O ₂₎
+ H ₂ O) is used as a chemical solution, and this chemical solution is supplied to the surface of the wafer W to perform a cleaning process. Further, the processing unit PU
3, PU6 is a water washing / drying processing unit (D) for washing away the chemical liquid adhering to the surface of the wafer W after the chemical liquid processing with pure water, and further rotating the wafer W at a high speed for drying.
TC).

The wafer W is subjected to a chemical cleaning process using buffered hydrofluoric acid, a chemical cleaning process using SC-1, and a water cleaning and drying process in the following order (1) or (2). Chemical treatment (BHF) → Chemical treatment (SC-1) → Washing / drying treatment (1) Chemical treatment (SC-1) → Chemical treatment (BHF) → Washing / drying treatment (2) For example, when processing the wafers W in the order of the above (1), the transfer robot TR takes out one unprocessed wafer W from the load cassette LC and transfers it to the chemical solution processing unit PU1 or PU4. Bring in. Wafer W after processing by chemical solution processing unit PU1 or PU4
Is taken out by the transport robot TR and carried into the chemical solution processing unit PU2 or PU5. The wafer W after the processing in the chemical processing unit PU2 or PU5 is carried into the washing / drying processing unit PU3 or PU6 by the transfer robot TR. The wafer W that has been subjected to the processing in the washing / drying processing unit PU3 or PU6 is taken out by the transfer robot TR and stored in the unload cassette UC.

When processing the wafer W in the order of the above (2), the wafer W is first loaded into the chemical processing unit PU2 or PU5 and processed, and then loaded into the chemical processing unit PU1 or PU3. Treated and then washed and dried processing unit PU3 or PU
6 to be processed. FIG. 7 is a front view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a plan view thereof. The substrate processing apparatus includes a transfer robot 70 (transfer mechanism) that holds a substrate such as a wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device and is capable of linearly reciprocating in the direction of arrow G along a linear transfer path 71. I have. Then, along one side of the linear transport path 71, a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped processing units U1, U2,
U3, U5,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as “processing unit U”) are arranged. However, the adjacent processing units U are partially overlapped in a plan view, and the positional relationship between the adjacent processing units U is determined so that a maintenance space is secured above or below each processing unit U.

For example, the lower surface near one end in the longitudinal direction of the linear transport path 71 of the processing unit U3 is in contact with the upper surface near one end in the longitudinal direction of the linear transport path 71 of the processing unit U2. The lower surface of the processing unit U3 near the other end in the longitudinal direction of the linear transport path 71 is in contact with the upper surface of the processing unit U4 near the one end in the longitudinal direction of the linear transport path 71. The upper surface near the other end of the processing unit U4 in the longitudinal direction in the linear direction is in contact with the lower surface near the one end in the longitudinal direction of the linear transport path 71 of the processing unit U5. In this way, the plurality of processing units U are linearly arranged along one side of the linear transport path 71 in a plan view, but are stepped so that the heights of adjacent ones are alternated. Are located in

Thus, since the space above or below the processing unit U is not occupied by another processing unit U, maintenance of the processing unit U can be performed well. Further, the processing units U arranged at the same height are separated by a predetermined distance, and a space is secured on the side of each processing unit U. Therefore, the maintenance of the processing unit U from the side can be performed well. Of course, since no processing unit is disposed on the back side of the processing unit U, maintenance from the back side is also possible.

Further, compared with the case where all the processing units U are arranged at the same height, the adjacent processing units U partially overlap each other, so that the total length of the substrate processing apparatus can be shortened. As a result, the space occupied by the apparatus can be reduced, so that the space in the clean room can be effectively used. The transfer robot 70 is configured to access the plurality of processing units U in an arbitrary order and to carry in or carry out the substrate. Specifically, the transfer robot 70 includes a linear drive mechanism (moving means) such as a ball screw drive mechanism (not shown) for linearly reciprocating along the linear transfer path 71, and a hand 72 (substrate holding means) for holding a substrate. And the hand 72
Drive mechanism (raising / lowering means) such as a ball screw drive mechanism (not shown) for raising / lowering the hand, and a hand advance / retreat driving mechanism (advancing / retreating means) such as a slider mechanism (not shown) for moving the hand 72 to / from the internal space of the processing unit U. ). If necessary, a rotating mechanism (not shown) for rotating the hand 72 about the vertical axis may be provided. With this configuration, the hand 72 can be made to face the front of an arbitrary processing unit U, to enter the inside of the processing unit U through the access opening 80, and to carry in or unload a substrate to or from this processing unit U.

As described above, one transfer robot 70 can carry in / out a substrate to / from a plurality of processing units U and can move a substrate between the processing units U. The occupied space of the apparatus can be reduced as compared with the sequential transfer type substrate processing apparatus in which the transfer robot is arranged. This also enables effective use of the space in the clean room.

Although the two embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention can be embodied in other forms. For example, in the above two embodiments, when focusing on a certain processing unit, the processing units disposed on both sides of the processing unit are almost the same height (a higher position or a lower position than the processing unit of interest). For example, on one side of a certain processing unit, another processing unit is disposed at a position higher than the processing unit, and on the other side of the processing unit of interest, the processing unit is disposed. Another processing unit may be arranged at a position lower than the unit. That is, a plurality of processing units may be arranged stepwise.

In the first embodiment, the transfer chamber TC and the plurality of processing units PU are arranged at the same distance, but the plurality of processing units PU and the transfer chamber TC are not necessarily arranged at the same distance. The transfer chamber and the plurality of processing units PU may be connected to each other by a passage having a different length as needed. Needless to say, in this case, a transfer robot that can carry in / out the wafer W to / from the furthest processing unit PU needs to be applied.

Further, in the second embodiment,
In order to secure a maintenance space on the side of the processing unit U, adjacent processing units (for example, the processing units U1 and U3, the processing units U2 and U4, etc.) at substantially the same height are arranged at intervals. However, when the maintenance from the side is not important, the side surfaces of the adjacent processing units at substantially the same height may be arranged in contact with each other. In this way, more processing units U can be arranged in a certain space. Similar modifications are possible for the first embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the adjacent processing units partially overlap each other.
For example, when a small processing unit is adjacent to a large processing unit, as long as a sufficient space is secured above or below the large processing unit, all of the small processing units are placed above or below the large processing unit so as to overlap with the large processing unit. The small processing unit may be arranged below.

In the above embodiment, the processing units PU and U are formed so as to be surrounded by a rectangular parallelepiped processing chamber. However, the shape of the processing chamber is not limited to this, and the necessary internal components are formed. It may be substantially cylindrical or spherical as long as it can accommodate. In addition, the first
In the embodiments described above, a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a wafer W has been described as an example. However, the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing other than cleaning processing, such as heat treatment, resist coating processing, or development processing for a substrate. The present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus to be applied.

Further, the apparatus of the first embodiment can be easily modified to a structure for processing a substrate other than a wafer, such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a processing unit.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the configuration of the transfer robot.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining an example of a processing flow.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining another example of the processing flow.

FIG. 7 is a simplified front view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a simplified configuration of a conventional sequential transfer type substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a configuration of a conventional substrate processing apparatus having a cluster type arrangement.

[Explanation of symbols]

PU1, PU2, PU3, PU4, PU5, PU6
Processing unit TC transfer chamber TR transfer robot 52 elevating drive unit 53 rotation drive unit 54 advance / retreat mechanism 55 advance / retreat drive unit 65 hand U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 processing unit 70 transfer robot 72 hand

Claims (5)

[Claims] A first processing unit for processing a substrate, and a substrate disposed so as to at least partially overlap the first processing unit while securing a space above the first processing unit; A plurality of processing units including a second processing unit for performing processing on the substrate processing apparatus. 2. The plurality of processing units are disposed so as to at least partially overlap below the second processing unit while securing a space below the second processing unit, and perform processing on a substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third processing unit. 3. The processing unit according to claim 2, wherein the first processing unit and the third processing unit are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance so as to secure a space between the first processing unit and the third processing unit. Substrate processing equipment. 4. A transport mechanism for loading or unloading a substrate from or to the plurality of processing units, the transport mechanism comprising: substrate holding means for holding a substrate; and elevating means for lifting and lowering the substrate holding means. Moving means for moving the substrate holding means forward and backward with respect to the plurality of processing units; and moving means for moving the substrate holding means so as to face the front of each of the plurality of processing units. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing units are arranged so as to surround the transport mechanism, and the moving means of the transport mechanism is a rotary moving means for rotating the substrate holding means. Claim 4
The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.