Vacuum Processing Apparatus And Semiconductor Manufacturing Line Using The Same

A vacuum processing apparatus comprising:

• a vacuum processing chamber for processing samples,
• a sample mounting table provided in said vacuum processing chamber for processing samples one by one,
• a cassette block for holding a plurality of cassettes in a vacuum environment,
• a vacuum transfer robot to be operated in only a vacuum environment for transferring a sample,
• wherein said cassette block, said vacuum transfer robot and said vacuum processing chamber are arranged adjacent one another in a longitudinal direction of the vacuum processing apparatus,
• wherein said vacuum transfer robot is a common transfer robot capable of transferring a sample between its position in any one of the plurality of cassettes and said sample mounting table provided in said vacuum processing chamber, and
• wherein said cassette block is arranged at a front part of said vacuum processing chamber and a width of said cassette block in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vacuum processing apparatus is larger than a width of said vacuum processing chamber in the direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vacuum processing apparatus to hold a plurality of cassettes arranged in the direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the vacuum processing apparatus, whereby the whole vacuum processing apparatus is of a T-shape.