Apparatus for processing substrate and method of transferring substrate

An apparatus for transferring a substrate to at least one substrate processing chamber to process the substrate, comprising:

• a substrate transfer chamber including a floor surface portion in which a traveling surface-side magnet is provided and a sidewall portion in which a plurality of openings for loading/unloading the substrate between the substrate transfer chamber and the at least one substrate processing chamber is formed;
• a substrate transfer module including a substrate holder configured to hold the substrate and a floating body-side magnet that acts a repulsive force with the traveling surface-side magnet, the substrate transfer module being configured to be movable on a first traveling surface formed in a region provided with the traveling surface-side magnet by magnetic floating using the repulsive force;
• the at least one substrate processing chamber connected to the substrate transfer chamber via a gate valve configured to open/close each of the plurality of openings and constituting a non-traveling region in which the substrate transfer module is not movable by the magnetic floating;
• and
• a transfer assist mechanism configured to assist the transfer of the substrate by the substrate transfer module between the substrate transfer chamber and a substrate processing position inside the at least one substrate processing chamber via the non-traveling region,
• wherein the transfer assist mechanism is a bridging module configured to be movable with the substrate transfer module placed on the bridging module between an accommodation position at which the transfer assist mechanism forms the first traveling surface provided with the traveling surface-side magnet and integrated with the floor surface portion in a state of being accommodated in the floor surface portion of the substrate transfer chamber, and a bridging position at which the transfer assist mechanism forms the first traveling surface to cover the non-traveling region when the gate valve is in an opened state.