Vacuum processing apparatus

A vacuum processing apparatus, comprising:

• a vacuum chamber in which a single vacuum environment is formed;
• first and a second processing regions provided in the vacuum chamber for performing predetermined vacuum processing on a substrate held by a substrate holder of a plurality of substrate holders;
• a conveying path for conveying the substrate holder, the conveying path being formed such that a projection shape with respect to a vertical plane forms a continuous ring shape;
• and
• a substrate holder conveying mechanism configured to convey the plurality of substrate holders each having a first and a second driven part along the conveying path,
• wherein the conveying path includes:
• a first conveying part that conveys the substrate holder in a horizontal state along the conveying path in a first conveying direction;
• a second conveying part that conveys the substrate holder in a horizontal state along the conveying path in a second conveying direction opposite to the first conveying direction and discharges the substrate holder;
• a conveying and reversing part that reverses and conveys the substrate holder from the first conveying part toward the second conveying part, and
• the conveying path is configured such that the first conveying part passes through one of the first and second processing regions, and the second conveying part passes through the other of the first and second processing regions,
• wherein the substrate holder conveying mechanism includes a plurality of first drive parts each being in contact with the first driven part of the substrate holder, and driving the substrate holder along the conveying path,
• wherein a direction changing mechanism is provided in a vicinity of the conveying and reversing part of the conveying path, that includes a plurality of second drive parts each being in contact with the second driven part of the substrate holder and driving the substrate holder in the first and second conveying directions, and first and a second direction changing paths for respectively guiding and conveying the first and second driven parts of the substrate holder so as to change a direction of the substrate holder from the first conveying direction to the second conveying direction, and
• wherein the conveying path is configured such that the first drive parts of the substrate holder conveying mechanism and the second drive parts of the direction changing mechanism are made to operate in synchronization with each other, and the first and second driven parts of the substrate holder are respectively guided and conveyed along the first and second direction changing paths of the direction changing mechanism, and thereby, the substrate holder is delivered from the first conveying part to the second conveying part of the conveying path while a relationship between upper and lower portions of the substrate holder is maintained.