Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method which performs predetermined processing on a substrate which is positioned approximately horizontally at a substrate processing position
View Patent ↗As a substrate transportation robot transports an unprocessed substrate W to a substrate transfer position P 1, inert gas ejected from a substrate floating head 71 toward the bottom surface of the substrate W floats up the unprocessed substrate W. Driven by an actuator 74, the substrate floating head 71 floating up the unprocessed substrate W then moves down. Upon arrival of the unprocessed substrate W at a substrate processing position P 3, a bottom rim portion of the substrate W engages with support pins 3, and as the substrate floating head 71 further moves down, the unprocessed substrate W is transferred to and mounted on the support pins 3. The substrate W is thus positioned at the substrate processing position P 3, whereby the bottom rim portion of the substrate W and an opposing surface 5 b of a spin base 5 are positioned close to each other and opposed against each other.
1. A substrate processing apparatus which performs predetermined processing on a substrate which is positioned approximately horizontally at a substrate processing position, comprising:
a base member which is provided underneath said substrate positioned at said substrate processing position and which is distanced from said substrate by a predetermined distance;
a motor which drives said base member to rotate about a vertical axis;
a substrate floating device which includes a substrate floating head and which ejects out gas toward a bottom surface of said substrate at an ejection outlet which is formed in a support surface of said substrate floating head, thereby floating up said substrate approximately horizontally, said support surface which is faced against the bottom surface of said substrate; and
an upward/downward driver which drives said substrate floating head along an up-down direction relative to said base member, thereby moving said substrate floated up by said substrate floating head to a substrate transfer position, which is located above said substrate processing position and at which a distance between said base member and said substrate positioned at said substrate transfer position is larger than a distance between said base member and said substrate positioned at said substrate processing position, and to said substrate processing position and positioning said substrate at said substrate transfer position and said substrate processing position,
wherein said base member has a dent which is formed in a top central portion thereof, said dent having a plane size which is larger than a plane size of said substrate floating head, and
wherein said base member rotates in a state that at least a lower portion of said substrate floating head retracts into said dent.
2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a size of a depth of said dent is larger than a size of a height of said substrate floating head along an up-down direction, and when said substrate floating head moves down, said substrate floating head as a whole retracts into said dent.
3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a restrictor which restricts said substrate from moving horizontally,
wherein said upward/downward driver moves said substrate floating head relative to said base member while said restrictor restricts said substrate floated up by said substrate floating head from moving horizontally, and said substrate is consequently moved to and positioned at said substrate transfer position and said substrate processing position.
4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said substrate floating head ejects out said gas to above toward the bottom surface of said substrate and toward a rim side of said substrate, and said substrate is sucked close to said support surface and floated up by a Bernoulli effect.