SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus and method which is capable of eliminating the pollution which accompany substrate transfer at high speed and of having high yield and high throughput. SOLUTION: An inert gas inlet mechanism 30 is connected to a substrate transfer chamber 1. A substrate is placed in a load-lock chamber 4 having an atmospheric pressure therein, and then the chamber 4 is vacuum exhausted. Meanwhile, an inert gas has been stored in advance in a gas reservoir of the inert gas inlet mechanism 30. Thereafter a separator valve 7 is opened, and the substrate is fed into the substrate transfer chamber 1. Next, a gas inlet valve 12 is opened to introduce the inert gas into the chamber 1, and then the valve 7 is closed. The gas inlet valve 12 is then closed, and the chamber 1 is vacuum exhausted to a high vacuum pressure. Thereafter a valve 6 is opened to feed the substrate into a preliminary heating chamber 3. During the transfer of the substrate from the preliminary chamber 3 to the substrate processing chamber 2 and the transfer of the substrate from the processing chamber 2 to the load-lock chamber 4, the vacuum exhausting of the chamber 1, introduction of the inert gas thereinto and the vacuum exhausting thereof are carried out, to quickly decrease impurity concentration.