Substrate processing apparatus and substrate transfer apparatus

An apparatus for transferring a substrate, the apparatus comprising:

• a first robot having a plurality of first hands on which a substrate is placed and which is provided to be spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction;
• a second robot having a plurality of second hands on which a substrate is placed and which is provided to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction;
• and
• a buffer unit having a plurality of buffers on which the substrate is placed and which is stacked in the vertical direction,
• each of the first robot and the second robot is provided to approach the buffer unit,
• at least some of the plurality of first hands are provided to have a first interval in the vertical direction,
• at least some of the plurality of second hands are provided to have a second interval in the vertical direction, and
• the buffer unit further includes an interval changing unit for changing an interval between adjacent buffers among the plurality of buffers between the first interval and the second interval.

An apparatus for processing a substrate, the apparatus comprising:

• an index module including a load port on which a container containing a substrate is placed and an index robot that loads or unloads a substrate into or from the container placed on the load port;
• and
• a processing module for processing the substrate transferred from the container placed on the index module,
• wherein the processing module includes:
• a buffer unit on which the substrate is placed temporarily;
• and
• a main transfer robot for transferring the substrate between the buffer unit and a processing chamber that processes the substrate,
• the index robot is provided to approach the buffer unit, and
• the buffer unit is position-changeable between a first state in which an interval between the adjacent buffers is maintained at a first interval and a second state in which an interval between the adjacent buffers is maintained at a second interval that is greater than the first interval,
• the buffer unit includes:
• a plurality of buffers that is stacked on each other and supports the substrate;
• and
• an interval changing unit for changing an interval between the adjacent buffers among the buffers,
• the interval changing unit includes:
• a body having a plurality of support surfaces;
• and
• a driver for moving the body in a vertical direction,
• the plurality of support surfaces is provided to correspond to the plurality of buffers, respectively, and
• the plurality of support surfaces is provided to be stepped from each other such that the lower the plurality of support surfaces is positioned, the farther the plurality of support surfaces is from a center of the body,
• each of the plurality of buffers has a contact surface that is in contact with a corresponding support surface among the plurality of support surfaces,
• the support surface and the contact surface that correspond to each other are provided such that the contact surface is positioned above the support surface,
• the plurality of contact surfaces is provided such that the higher the contact surface is positioned, the closer the contact surface is to a central axis of the body,
• a height difference between the support surfaces adjacent to each other among the plurality of support surfaces is provided to be greater than a height difference between the contact surfaces adjacent to each other among the plurality of contact surfaces,
• the driver is provided to be able to move the body vertically between a first height and a second height higher than the first height,
• the first height is a height at which an interval between the adjacent buffers is the first interval,
• the second height is a height at which an interval between the adjacent buffers is the second interval when the support surface and the contact surface that correspond to each other are in contact with each other,
• the index robot includes a plurality of index hands stacked on each other,
• intervals between at least some of the plurality of index hands in a vertical direction is provided as the first interval,
• the main transfer robot includes a plurality of transfer hands stacked on each other, and
• intervals between at least some of the plurality of transfer hands in the vertical direction are provided as the second interval.