A compact manufacturing device to automatically transport a wafer transport container. The compact manufacturing device comprises a processing chamber and a device front chamber provided inside a housing, a container mounting table provided in the housing to mount a substrate transport container accommodating a processing substrate, and a container transport mechanism. The container transport mechanism delivers the substrate transport container to the adjacent compact manufacturing device along a container transport path and/or receives the substrate transport container from adjacent compact manufacturing device along the container transport path when a plurality of the compact manufacturing devices are provided in parallel.

A substrate processing system is provided. The substrate processing system includes: a first transfer apparatus; at least two first accommodating units including an upper first accommodating unit and a lower first accommodating unit; multiple first substrate processing units, which are divided into at least a first group and a second group and arranged in a height direction; an upper second accommodating unit corresponding to the first group; an upper second transfer apparatus corresponding to the first group; a lower second accommodating unit corresponding to the second group; a lower second transfer apparatus corresponding to the second group; a first delivery apparatus corresponding to the first group; and a second delivery apparatus corresponding to the second group.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a stage provided in a chamber, and a conveying module configured to convey a plurality of wafers into the chamber and to set the plurality of wafers on the stage. The apparatus further includes a controller configured to divide treatment time for simultaneously treating the plurality of wafers on the stage into first to K-th treatment periods where K is an integer of two or more, and to change positions of one or more of the plurality of wafers on the stage by the conveying module according to the treatment periods.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a transfer device configured to transfer at least one substrate as a processing target; a transfer controller configured to control the transfer device to perform a normal transfer of transferring the substrate and a high-accuracy transfer of transferring the substrate with higher positioning accuracy as compared to the normal transfer; a warm-up controller configured to control the transfer device to perform a warm-up operation, which is different from the normal transfer and the high-accuracy transfer, when necessary; and a necessity determination unit configured to make a determination that the warm-up operation is required as a beginning of the high-accuracy transfer is approaching when a duration of a stop state of the transfer device exceeds a preset reference time.

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus which can efficiently transfer substrates using a conveying mechanism including a plurality of substrate holding members. The substrate processing apparatus transfers a processed substrate to an intermediate conveying unit using a transport mechanism when the processed substrate returns to a substrate receiving unit. When a conveying mechanism withdraws the processed substrate from the intermediate conveying unit and transfers the processed substrate to the substrate receiving unit, a control unit determines whether both of a first substrate processed first among a plurality of substrates withdrawn from the substrate receiving unit as a set and a succeeding substrate processed later than the first substrate should be transferred together after waiting until the succeeding substrate is transferred to the intermediate conveying unit or to transfer the first substrate without waiting for the succeeding substrate, when the first substrate is transferred to the intermediate conveying unit.

An EFEM 1 includes a wafer transfer chamber 3 having an interior space in which a wafer transfer robot 5 is disposed and load ports 2 disposed adjacent to a front surface 32 of the wafer transfer chamber 3, and semiconductor processing equipment M can be disposed adjacent to a rear surface 33 of the wafer transfer chamber 3. The EFEM 1 has a configuration in which two buffer stations 4 capable of temporarily storing wafers W are disposed next to each other in the front-rear direction A on a side surface 31 of the wafer transfer chamber 3. The EFEM 1 thus configured adapts to an increase in wafer diameter and is capable of handling many wafers while preventing or minimizing an increase in the stroke distance in the height direction of the wafer transfer robot 5 and an increase in the footprint of the entire EFEM 1.

Provided is a substrate transfer method for sequentially transferring a substrate between a heat treatment chamber and another chamber different from the heat treatment chamber using a transfer unit having a first pick and a second pick. An unprocessed substrate is held by the first pick, and the substrate is transferred to the heat treatment chamber. A processed substrate, heat-treated in the heat treatment chamber, is held by the second pick, and the unprocessed substrate held by the first pick is loaded into the heat treatment chamber. The processed substrate held by the second pick is transferred to the other chamber. An unprocessed substrate in the other chamber is held by the first pick, the processed substrate held by the second pick is loaded into the other chamber, and then both the first pick and the second pick are put into a state of not holding a substrate.

Provided is a substrate processing apparatus including a liquid processing unit that performs a liquid processing on a substrate; a drying processing unit that performs a drying processing on the substrate in a wet state; a first conveyance unit that conveys the substrate to the liquid processing unit; a second conveyance unit that conveys the substrate in the wet state from the liquid processing unit to the drying processing unit; and a third conveyance unit that conveys the substrate before the liquid processing in the liquid processing unit and to convey the substrate after the drying processing from the drying processing unit. The first and second conveyance units and the drying processing unit are disposed on a side that faces the third conveyance unit, and the liquid processing unit is disposed on a side that faces the first and second conveyance units and is opposite to the third conveyance unit.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a carrier holding unit which holds a carrier that contains substrates, a plurality of processing units, each of which processes a substrate, a substrate transfer unit which transfers substrates between the carrier and the processing units, and a controller. The controller classifies the plurality of processing units into a plurality of groups and is programmed, when determining a processing unit that is to process a substrate, to select one of the plurality of groups, to select one processing unit belonging to the selected group, and to control the substrate transfer unit to carry a substrate into the selected processing unit.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device uses a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a turn table allowing placement of at least first and second semiconductor substrates and being capable of moving positions of the first and the second semiconductor substrates by turning, a first film forming chamber, and a second film forming chamber. The first and the second film forming chambers are provided with an opening capable of loading and unloading the first and the second semiconductor substrates by lifting and lowering the first and the second semiconductor substrates placed on the turn table. The method includes transferring the first and the second semiconductor substrates between the first and the second film forming chambers by turning the turn fable and lifting and lowering the first and the second semiconductor substrates placed on the turn table; and forming a stack of films above the first and the second semiconductor substrates.