The present disclosure relates to a substrate transfer method and apparatus which controls a substrate transfer robot using position information of a substrate, when the substrate is loaded or unloaded in the substrate transfer apparatus including the substrate transfer robot. When an operation of setting a new reference value due to a change in process or hardware after setting the initial reference value for loading or unloading the substrate is requested, the substrate transfer method and apparatus can automatically perform the reference value setting operation. Therefore, the substrate transfer method and apparatus can transfer the substrate such that the substrate is located in the center of the susceptor, even though the reference value of the substrate transfer robot is not manually changed.

Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus that performs a cleaning treatment on substrates. A treating block includes a plurality of treating units in an upper and lower stages, respectively. The treating block includes a front face cleaning unit and a back face cleaning unit, each being at least one in number, in the upper stage. The treating block includes at least one tower unit including the front face cleaning unit and the back face cleaning unit, each being at least one in number, in the lower stage. Moreover, a transportation block is provided that includes a center robot in each of the upper and lower stages.

The invention relates to a device 10 for holding workpieces 30 in a process chamber. The invention additionally relates to a coating system 20 and to a method for coating a workpiece 30. In order to allow for precise adjustment of the height of the position of workpieces 30 while supporting same in a secure and stable manner, the holding device 10 comprises a tray 72 for the workpieces 30, a height-adjustable first support element 22 and a height-adjustable second support element 48 for the tray 72, wherein each of the support elements 22, 48 comprises at least one first and one second limb element 26, 56, wherein the respective first and the respective second limb element 26, 56 are coupled so as to be pivotable relative to one another about a pivot axis X, Y, and wherein the pivot axis X of the first support element 22 is arranged at an angle to the pivot axis Y of the second support element 48.

A transport system for transporting a plurality of objects between a storage container configured to store the plurality of objects and a processing apparatus configured to collectively process the plurality of objects held on a tray, including a mounting part on which the storage container is mounted, a stage on which the plurality of objects are mounted, a tray support part configured to support the tray, a first transport device configured to transport the plurality of objects between the storage container mounted on the mounting part and the stage, and a second transport device configured to transport the plurality of objects between the stage and the tray supported by the tray support part.

A substrate transport apparatus having a drive section and at least one articulated multi-link arm having an upper arm joined at one end to the drive section and a forearm joined to the upper arm. The upper arm being a substantially rigid unarticulated link. Dual end effector links that are separate and distinct from each other are each rotatably and separately joined to a common end of the forearm about a common axis of rotation. Each end effector link has at least one holding station. The holding station of at least one end effector link includes one holding station at opposite ends of the at least one end effector link that is substantially rigid and unarticulated between the opposite ends, and the holding station at one of the opposite ends is substantially coplanar with the holding station of each other end effector link.

A transfer apparatus including a frame, multiple arms connected to the frame, each arm having an end effector and an independent drive axis for extension and retraction of the respective arm with respect to other ones of the multiple arms, a linear rail defining a degree of freedom for the independent drive axis for extension and retraction of at least one arm, and a common drive axis shared by each arm and configured to pivot the multiple arms about a common pivot axis, wherein at least one of the multiple arms having another drive axis defining an independent degree of freedom with respect to other ones of the multiple arms.

The present disclosure provides a wafer locking mechanism configured to lock a wafer, the wafer locking mechanism comprising: a wafer base, constructed in a form of a frustum shape tapering from a bottom portion thereof towards a top portion thereof, and configured to be elevatable along a direction of an axis thereof; a plurality of rods, which are diametrically aligned in pairs perpendicular to the axis; and a plurality of compression springs, which are respectively sheathed on respective distal ends of the plurality of rods distal to the wafer base, in one-to-one correspondence and extend radially outwards. The plurality of rods are respectively provided with both a plurality of ball-head portions which are located at respective proximal ends thereof proximate to the wafer base and abut against the wafer base, in one-to-one correspondence, and a plurality of jaws which protrude from the respective distal ends along a direction of the axis on a same side of the top portion and are pressed radially inwards by the plurality of compression springs, in one-to-one correspondence.

A wafer magazine is disposed on a load port of an oven chamber. The wafer magazine contains one or more wafer boats with semiconductor wafers. The wafer boats are supported in the wafer magazine by wall slots of the wafer magazine. Using a push bar, the wafer boats are transferred out of the wafer magazine and into a wafer magazine jig also disposed on the load port. The transferred one or more wafer boats are supported in the wafer magazine jig by wall slots of the wafer magazine jig. During transfer, the wafer boats are supported across a gap between the wafer magazine and the wafer magazine jig by wall slots of a boat bridge interposed between the wafer magazine and the wafer magazine jig. After the transfer and using a robot, the wafer boats in the wafer magazine jig are moved into the oven chamber.

A substrate processing apparatus includes: a vacuum transfer chamber including a substrate transfer mechanism provided in a vacuum transfer space thereof to collectively hold and transfer substrates with a substrate holder; and a processing chamber having processing spaces and connected to the vacuum transfer chamber. The processing chamber includes a loading/unloading port provided on a side of the vacuum transfer chamber to allow the vacuum transfer space and the processing spaces to communicate with each other. The processing spaces include a first processing space in which a first process is performed on the substrate and a second processing space in which a second process is performed on the substrate subjected to the first process. The first and second processing spaces are arranged in a direction in which the substrate is loaded and unloaded, and the substrate holder has a length that extends over the first and second processing spaces.

A method of heat-treating a silicon wafer using a lateral heat treatment furnace that can improve the product yield by restricting reduction in the lifetime value of silicon wafers placed in the vicinity of dummy blocks placed to equalize the temperature of the region where the wafers are placed. In a method of heat-treating a silicon wafer using a lateral heat treatment furnace, a boat is placed in a hollow cylindrical furnace core tube, and on the boat, at least one of a first additional block between a first dummy block and a wafer group and a second additional block between a second dummy block and the wafer group is placed.