Substrate processing apparatus

In a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of process chambers connected to a conveyor chamber are accommodated in a single substrate convey apparatus and continuous substrate processing is carried out in two or more process chambers P1, P2 . . . , Pj (j here being a natural number of two or more) of said plurality of process chambers,

• a substrate processing apparatus characterized in that it is equipped with a control section that controls substrate convey processing by the substrate convey apparatus so that in a case in which return processing is implemented in which, from the final process chamber Pj to carry out the continuous processing, the substrate is re-conveyed to any process chamber Px (1≦x<j) of the continuous-processing process chambers and continuous processing carried out in the order Px, . . . , Py (x≦y≦j), when a substrate is returned from the final process chamber Pj to a process chamber Px, the substrate is conveyed to the process chamber Px after being temporarily retracted to a place other than a process chamber.

In a semiconductor device manufacturing method of manufacturing semiconductor devices by continuous processing of a plurality of substrates,

• a semiconductor device manufacturing method characterized in that, in a case in which after a substrate is continuously processed by two or more process chambers, the substrate is re-conveyed from the last process chamber to any of the two or more process chambers other than the last and return processing implemented, in the re-conveyance the substrate is conveyed to said any of the process chambers after being temporarily retracted to a place other than a process chamber.