Vacuum processing apparatus

A vacuum processing apparatus comprising:

• a cassette stage on which a cassette having plural samples accommodated therein is placed;
• an atmospheric-pressure transport chamber for conveying the samples;
• lock chambers that accommodate the samples conveyed in from the atmospheric-pressure transport chamber and have an ambient capable of being switched between an atmospheric ambient and a vacuum ambient;
• a vacuum transport chamber coupled to the lock chambers;
• at least one vacuum chamber for processing the samples conveyed in via the vacuum transport chamber;
• and
• cooling units disposed in the atmospheric-pressure transport chamber and operable to cool the high-temperature samples processed by the vacuum chamber;
• wherein each of the cooling units has a sample stage over which the high-temperature samples are placed and which has a coolant channel, an inlet/exit port through which the samples are conveyed in and out, gas-blowing tubes disposed on a side of the inlet/exit port and acting to blow gas toward the sample stage, and an exhaust port disposed on an opposite side of the sample stage with regard to the inlet/exit port and acting to exhaust the gas blown from the gas-blowing tubes.