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AssigneesTokyo Electron Limited, Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorsToshihiko Kitoku, Shinji Niwa, Toshiki Hosaka, Takashi Kitazawa, Atsuo Sanda, Yoshitaka Sato
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An etching processing apparatus 1 has a transfer chamber 2, a plurality of processing chambers 3 and 4, and a plurality of cassette chambers 7 and 8. Inside the transfer chamber 2, a transfer mechanism 14 is provided. A control device 17 pauses the operation of the vacuum pump 16 after closing an opening/closing valve 15 of a vacuum evacuating mechanism, which vacuum evacuates the transfer chamber 2 in which the transfer mechanism 14 is provided, when the operation of the transfer mechanism 14 is paused for a predetermined time or longer. Accordingly, conservation of energy becomes possible without causing decrease of productivity.
A substrate transfer method of transferring a substrate by a transfer mechanism inside a transfer chamber configured to have a vacuum atmosphere by a vacuum pump connected thereto with an opening/closing valve interposed therebetween, the substrate transfer method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.