JPH0666377B2 - Processing apparatus, processing method, and resist processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a processing apparatus, a processing method, and a resist processing apparatus.

(Prior Art) In recent years, semiconductor devices have been rapidly highly integrated, and their circuit patterns tend to be miniaturized. For this reason, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, it is required to further reduce the dust in the atmosphere in the clean room as compared with the conventional one, and to make it cleaner. Therefore, it has been attempted to meet the demand for cleanliness by automating each process and unmanned.

By the way, generally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a plurality of semiconductor wafers, for example, about 25 semiconductor wafers as an object to be processed are housed and carried in a carrying jig called a wafer cassette or the like. Therefore, as one of the above-mentioned automations, robot transfer that automatically transfers such a wafer cassette is being adopted.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, automatic transfer of wafer cassettes and the like is carried out by robot transfer.

However, when a wafer cassette or the like is transferred to various semiconductor processing apparatuses by such robot transfer, the transfer becomes difficult if the height of the wafer cassette loading port of the various semiconductor processing apparatuses is different for each apparatus. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the heights of the wafer inlets of the wafer cassettes of various semiconductor processing apparatuses so as to match with each other, and depending on the semiconductor processing apparatus, there are cases where a large design change or the like is required.

Further, in recent years, the diameter of semiconductor wafers has tended to be increased to a diameter of, for example, 8 inches, and in response to this, jigs for transportation such as wafer cassettes have been increased in size and the weight thereof tends to be heavy. It is also required as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to cope with the increase in size of various transport jigs.

When the wafer diameter further changes, the processing equipment in the clean room is replaced, but the power supply capacity of the clean room is already installed. Especially, it is said that it is desired to shift 8 inches from the aspect of yield etc. It was a big construction and it was a problem.

The present invention has been made in response to such conventional circumstances, it is possible to maintain a high degree of cleanliness of the process processing unit, it is possible to perform a high degree of cleanliness processing to the object to be processed,
Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus, a processing method, and a resist processing apparatus that can improve maintenance efficiency.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) That is, the present invention provides a cassette mounting device including a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface on which at least one cassette that accommodates a plurality of objects to be processed is mounted. Section, a first transfer means provided in the cassette mounting section for loading and unloading the object to be processed from the cassette, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and the processing section Second carrying means for carrying in and carrying out the object to be processed to and from a predetermined processing unit of the plurality of processing units, and carrying in and carrying out to and from the plurality of processing units by the second carrying means. And a means for setting a height position of the object to be processed in the main processing apparatus to a position higher than a height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing apparatus.

Further, the first conveying means is configured to be movable in X, Y, and θ directions.

Further, the second transport means is configured to be movable in X, Y, Z, and θ directions.

Further, the cassette mounting table is configured to be movable in the vertical direction.

Further, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the object to be processed from the cassette provided on the cassette mounting part. A first transporting means for loading and unloading, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and a predetermined processing unit of the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section for the predetermined processing unit. The second transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, the transfer means for transferring the object to be processed between the first transfer means and the second transfer means, and the second transfer means Means for setting the height position in the main processing device of the object to be carried in and discharged to the plurality of processing units to a position higher than the height position in the main processing device of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table. Ingredient Characterized in that by comprising.

Further, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the object to be processed from the cassette provided on the cassette mounting part. A first transporting means for loading and unloading, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and a predetermined processing unit of the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section for the predetermined processing unit. Second transport means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, at least two holding means provided in the second transport means for loading and unloading the object to and from the plurality of processing units, and the second The height position in the processing apparatus of the object to be processed that is carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the transfer unit is
And a means for setting the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table to a position higher than a height position in the present processing apparatus.

Further, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the object to be processed from the cassette provided on the cassette mounting part. And a resist coating processing unit and a resist developing processing unit, a baking processing unit, and a cooling processing unit for performing resist processing on the object to be processed, or a processing unit including at least two of them. A second step of loading / unloading the object to / from the resist coating processing unit, the resist developing processing unit, the baking processing unit, the cooling processing unit, or at least two of these units provided in this processing unit Of the plurality of processing units by the second conveying unit and the second conveying unit. And a means for setting the height position of the object to be carried in and out of the cassette in the main processing device to a position higher than the height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing device. It is characterized by

Further, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the object to be processed from the cassette provided on the cassette mounting part. And a resist coating processing unit and a resist developing processing unit, a baking processing unit, and a cooling processing unit for performing resist processing on the object to be processed, or a processing unit including at least two of them. A resist coating processing unit, a resist developing processing unit, a baking processing unit, and a cooling processing unit provided in this processing unit, or at least two of these units, the back surface (lower surface) peripheral edge of the object to be processed. Second carrying means for carrying in and out while supporting a part, and the second carrying means. Means for setting the height position in the main processing device of the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by means to a position higher than the height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing device It is characterized by comprising:

In addition, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting base for mounting at least one cassette that accommodates a plurality of objects to be processed, a first housing in which the cassette mounting portion is provided, and the first housing. A first transfer unit provided on the body for loading and unloading the object to be processed from the cassette, a processing unit including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and a second casing provided with the processing unit. A body, a second carrying unit provided in the second casing for carrying the object to be processed to a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units, and the plurality of processing units by the second carrying unit. The height position in the main processing device of the object to be carried in and out is set to a position higher than the height position in the main processing device of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table provided in the first housing. And means for Characterized in that it comprises Te.

In addition, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting base for mounting at least one cassette that accommodates a plurality of objects to be processed, a first housing in which the cassette mounting portion is provided, and the first housing. A first transfer unit provided on the body for loading and unloading the object to be processed from the cassette, a processing unit including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and a second casing provided with the processing unit. A body, a second carrying means provided in the second housing for carrying the object to be processed to a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units, and the first housing provided in the first housing. Delivery means for delivering the object to be processed between the second conveying means and the second conveying means, and the main processing of the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the second conveying means. The height position in the device is defined by the first housing. By comprising and means for setting higher than the height position of the processing apparatus of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table provided position characterized.

Further, a cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the object to be processed from the cassette provided on the cassette mounting part. A first transporting means for loading and unloading, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed, and a predetermined processing unit of the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section for the predetermined processing unit. The second carrying means for carrying in and carrying out the object to be processed, and the height position in the main processing apparatus of the object to be carried in and carried out to and from the plurality of processing units by the second carrying means are set on the cassette mounting table. In the processing device, which comprises means for setting the cassette mounting surface to a position higher than the height position of the processing device, the main processing of the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units. The height position of the device, at a position higher than the height position of the processing apparatus of the cassette mounting surface of said cassette table, characterized by transporting said object to be processed by said second conveying means.

(Operation) In the processing apparatus, the processing method, and the resist processing apparatus of the present invention, the holding means that holds the object to be processed and carries it into and out of the processing unit is located at a position higher than the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table. Since the object to be processed can be loaded and unloaded into and from the processing unit, the cleanliness of the process processing unit can be maintained high, and the cleanliness of the object can be processed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a resist coating and developing processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the resist coating and developing treatment apparatus 1 is
For example, the processing unit 2 and the loader unit 3 each of which is composed of a separate body are arranged in the horizontal direction (X direction in the drawing) and are connected to each other.

The processing unit 2 includes processing units 11a to 11f that perform a series of processes for photolithography on an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer 10, and a transfer unit that transfers the semiconductor wafer 10 to these processing units 11a to 11f. 12 are combined.

In the case of this embodiment, the transport path unit 12 is provided so as to run in the central portion of the housing, and one side (downward in FIG. 1) divided by the transport unit path 12 is
Resist coating processing unit 11a, development processing unit 1
1b are provided in parallel, and on the other side (upper side in FIG. 1), a plurality of processing units such as post-baking processing units 11c and 11d from the loader unit 3 side, and posts configured to be stacked in two stages. The exposure bake unit 11e and the cooling temperature control processing unit 11f are provided in parallel.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer path unit 12 is provided with a plurality of, for example, two wafer tweezers 12a for supporting and transferring the semiconductor wafer 10 so as to be vertically stacked. These wafer tweezers 12a are
It is formed in an arc shape and is configured to support the peripheral portion of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, and is configured to be movable in the X, Y, Z, and θ directions by a drive mechanism (not shown).
Here, for example, one of the two wafer tweezers 12a transfers the semiconductor wafer 10 to each of the processing units 11a to 11f of the processing unit 2, and the other receives the processed semiconductor wafer 10.

On the other hand, in the loader unit 3, a wafer cassette (conveying jig) 13 configured to accommodate a plurality of semiconductor wafers 10, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers 10 is placed and configured to move in the vertical direction (Z direction). A plurality of, for example, four cassette mounting portions 1
4 are provided. In addition, this loader unit 3 has
Wafer tweezers 1 that can be moved in the X, Y, and θ directions
5a allows the semiconductor wafer 1 to be placed in the wafer cassette 13.
A transport mechanism 15 for loading and unloading 0 is provided.

Further, in this embodiment, the loader unit 3 is provided with the transfer mechanism 1
5 and the semiconductor wafer 1 between the transfer path unit 12
As a wafer transfer mechanism 16 for transferring 0, two stage pins 1 are configured to be movable up and down by a driving mechanism (not shown) such as a stepping motor and a ball screw, and the semiconductor wafer 10 can be supported above the stage pins 1.
6a is provided. In addition, these stage pins 1
6a is configured so that its interval can be changed by a drive mechanism (not shown) such as an air cylinder.

Further, two centering guides 17 for aligning the semiconductor wafer 10 are provided above the stage pins 16a. The centering guide 17 is formed in a semicircular shape on the inside according to the outer shape of the semiconductor wafer 10, and is configured to be positioned by holding the semiconductor wafer 10 by controlling the opening / closing by a drive mechanism (not shown) such as an air cylinder. Has been done. Then, the semiconductor wafer 10 is loaded between the centering guides 17 in the open state, and an operation of closing the centering guides 17 (moving the centering guides 17 in a direction to narrow the gap) causes the semiconductor wafer 10 to reach a predetermined position of the stage pin 16a. Can be positioned.

Next, the operation (processing step) of the resist processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the wafer cassette 13 in which the semiconductor wafers 10 are accommodated is placed on a predetermined mounting table of the cassette mounting section 14 of the loader section 3 by a dust-free robot transfer, such as a handling arm, which transfers in a clean room. The placed information is automatically input to the computer.

After that, the wafer tweezers 15a of the transfer mechanism 15 are set to, for example, the wafer cassette 13 according to a program that has been assembled in advance.
The wafer cassette 13 is inserted into the lower part of the semiconductor wafer 10 in the corresponding wafer cassette 13, and then the wafer cassette 13 is lowered by a predetermined stroke relative to the tweezers 15 by the cassette mounting portion 14 to move the wafer. The semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the tweezers 15a. In addition, the wafer tweezers 15a sucks and temporarily fixes the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 by, for example, a vacuum check.

Next, the wafer tweezers 1 supporting the semiconductor wafer 10
5a is moved in the X direction and pulled out from the inside of the wafer cassette 13, and then the wafer tweezers 15a is rotated in the θ direction to be positioned above the stage pin 16. At this time, the stage pin 16 is set in the initial state (in the lowered position and the gap between the stage pins 16 is open) in advance and is on standby.

Thereafter, the stage pin 16a is raised and the semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred from the wafer tweezers 15a onto the stage pin 16a. At this time, the stage pins 16a and the wafer tweezers 15a pass in the vertical direction so that the wafer tweezers 15a pass through between the two stage pins 16a.

Then, the stage pins 16a are further raised to move the semiconductor wafer 10 to the centering guide 1 which has been opened in advance.
7, the centering guide 17 is closed, and the semiconductor wafer 10 is positioned at a predetermined position on the stage pin 16a.

At this time, the stage pin 16a is also closed.
This is because the wafer tweezers 12a of the transfer path unit 12 to be subsequently transferred are formed in a substantially annular shape so as to hold the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 10, and the opening for inserting the stage pin 16a formed at the tip thereof is narrow. This is to prevent the stage pins 16a and the wafer tweezers 12a from interfering with each other. Therefore, the wafer tweezers 1
Depending on the shape of 2a (the shape of the opening for inserting the stage pin 16a), the closing operation of the stage pin 16 may not be performed.

Next, the stage pin 16a is raised to a predetermined height that allows the semiconductor wafer 10 to be transferred to the wafer tweezers 12a, and the stage pin 16a stands by here.

Then, the wafer tweezers 1 are provided under the semiconductor wafer 10.
When 2a is inserted, the stage pin 16a is lowered,
The semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pins 16a is transferred to the wafer tweezers 12a. The semiconductor wafer 10 transferred to the wafer tweezers 12a is then sequentially processed into predetermined processing units 11a to 1 by a predetermined program.
The sheet is conveyed to 1f and subjected to predetermined processing.

Further, when the processed semiconductor wafer 10 is supported by either one of the wafer tweezers 12a provided in the upper and lower two stages at the time of the transfer, the processed semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred after the transfer. It is delivered to the stage pin 16a. That is, this wafer tweezers 1
2a is moved forward to position the processed semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pin 16a.
The semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred to the stage pins 16a by raising a to support the semiconductor wafer 10 on the stage pins 16a and retracting the wafer tweezers 12a.

The processed semiconductor wafer 10 transferred to the stage pin 16a is then positioned by the centering guide 17 by an operation opposite to the above-described operation, and then received from the stage pin 16a to the wafer tweezers 15a of the transfer mechanism 15. The wafers are handed over, and then housed in a predetermined wafer cassette 13.

By repeating such a series of operations, each semiconductor wafer 10 in the wafer cassette 13 is sequentially subjected to predetermined processing.

Then, all the semiconductor wafers 1 in the wafer cassette 13
When the processing of 0 is completed, the wafer cassette 13 is unloaded, and a new wafer cassette 13 is loaded. When such loading / unloading of the wafer cassette 13 is automatically carried out by the robot transfer, the operation of this embodiment is performed. The resist processing apparatus 1 can be easily implemented by adjusting the height of the loader unit 3 to a transfer height by robot transfer.

That is, while the height of the processing unit 2 is fixed, the height of the loader unit 3 is adjusted to the conveyance height by robot conveyance, and the height of the loader unit 3 causes the stage pins 16 a to vertically move the semiconductor wafer 10. Adjust the transport distance.
Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the height or the like of the entire apparatus or make a large design change, and it is possible to flexibly cope with robots having different conveyance heights.

FIG. 3 shows the construction of a resist processing apparatus 1a according to another embodiment. The same parts as those of the resist processing apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the resist processing apparatus 1a of this embodiment, the loader unit 3
The cassette mounting unit 14 of the processing unit 11 of the processing unit 2
It is provided at a lower position than a to 11f. In addition, the cassette mounting portion 14 does not include a drive mechanism, and the wafer tweezers 15a of the transfer mechanism 15 are XYZ-θ.
It is configured to be movable in any direction.

Then, the semiconductor wafer 10 is taken out from the wafer cassette 13 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 14 by the wafer tweezers 15a, and the semiconductor wafer 10 is conveyed to the upper part by the wafer tweezers 15a, and the stage pins 1
Hand over to 6a.

In the resist processing apparatus 1a configured as described above, the loading / unloading of the wafer cassette 13 to / from the cassette mounting portion 14 can be performed at a low position, and the wafer cassette 1
Since 3 is not moved up and down, it is possible to suppress the height of the apparatus from increasing, which is suitable when the wafer cassette 13 is large, for example, when processing a semiconductor wafer 10 having a large diameter such as an 8-inch diameter. is there.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer resist processing apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and any apparatus such as a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the surface of a semiconductor wafer may be used. The present invention can be applied to an etching apparatus, an exposure processing apparatus that exposes a resist-coated semiconductor wafer, a developing apparatus that develops an exposed semiconductor wafer, and the like. Further, the object to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but can be applied to a process of processing an LCD substrate or a printed circuit board.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the processing apparatus, the processing method, and the resist processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform clean processing on the object to be processed in the process processing unit.
Furthermore, according to the ninth and tenth aspects of the invention, maintenance efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a resist processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the resist processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a resist processing apparatus according to another embodiment. It is a figure which shows a part structure. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Resist processing apparatus, 2 ... Processing section, 3 ... Loader section, 10 ... Semiconductor wafer, 11a-11f ... Processing unit, 12 ... Transport path unit, 12a ... Wafer tweezers, 13 ... Wafer Cassette, 14 ... Cassette mounting section, 15 ... Transfer mechanism, 15a ... Wafer tweezers, 16 ... Wafer transfer mechanism, 16a ... Stage pin, 17 ... Centering guide.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Osamu Hirakawa 2655 Tsukyu, Kikuyo-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture, Tokyo Electron Kyushu Co., Ltd. (72) Noriyuki Anai, 2655 Tsukyu, Kikuyo-machi, Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto Incorporated (56) Reference JP-A-1-318247 (JP, A) JP-A-1-227451 (JP, A) JP-A-63-28047 (JP, A) JP-A-62-181440 (JP, A) JP-A-1-179413 (JP, A)

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the cassette mounting section provided on the cassette mounting section, First transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object, and a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section On the other hand, the second carrying means for carrying in and carrying out the object to be processed, and the height position in the main processing apparatus of the object to be carried in and carried out to and from the plurality of processing units by the second carrying means are set to the cassette. And a means for setting the cassette mounting surface of the mounting table to a position higher than the height position of the processing apparatus. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transfer means is configured to be movable in X, Y, and θ directions. 3. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second transfer means is configured to be movable in X, Y, Z, and θ directions. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cassette mounting table is configured to be movable in the vertical direction. 5. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface on which at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed is mounted, and the cassette mounting section provided on the cassette mounting section, First transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object, and a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section On the other hand, second transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, delivery means for transferring the object to be processed between the first transfer means and the second transfer means, and the second transfer means. The height position in the main processing device of the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the transfer means is set to a position higher than the height position in the main processing device of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table. Processing apparatus characterized by comprising; and a stage. 6. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the cassette mounting section provided on the cassette mounting section, First transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object, and a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section On the other hand, second transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, and at least two holding means provided in the second transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed with respect to the plurality of processing units, The height position in the main processing apparatus of the object to be processed that is carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the second transport means is defined as the height of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing apparatus. Processing apparatus characterized by comprising comprises a means for setting a higher position position. 7. A cassette mounting portion having a cassette mounting base having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the cassette mounting portion provided in the cassette mounting portion, It is provided with a first conveying means for carrying in and out the object to be processed, a resist coating processing unit and a resist developing processing unit, a baking processing unit and a cooling processing unit for resist processing the object, or at least two of them. A processing unit, and the resist coating processing unit, the resist developing processing unit, the baking processing unit, and the cooling processing unit, which are provided in the processing unit, or at least two of these units, carry in and carry out the object to be processed. A second transporting means, and the plurality of the second transporting means. And a means for setting the height position of the object to be carried in and out of the processing unit in the main processing device to a position higher than the height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing device. A resist processing apparatus characterized by the following. 8. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface on which at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed is mounted, and the cassette mounting section provided on the cassette mounting section, It is provided with a first conveying means for carrying in and out the object to be processed, a resist coating processing unit and a resist developing processing unit, a baking processing unit and a cooling processing unit for resist processing the object, or at least two of them. The processing section, the resist coating processing unit, the resist developing processing unit, the baking processing unit, and the cooling processing unit, which are provided in the processing section, or at least any two of these units, have a back surface ( Lower surface) second transporting means for carrying in and out by supporting a peripheral portion, The height position in the main processing device of the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the second transport means is higher than the height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing device. A resist processing apparatus, comprising: 9. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, a first housing provided with the cassette mounting section, and A first transporting unit that is provided in one housing for loading and unloading the object to be processed from the cassette; a processing unit including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed; and a processing unit including the processing unit. A second housing, a second carrying means provided in the second housing and carrying the object to be processed to a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units, and the second carrying means The height position of the object to be processed carried in and out of the processing unit in the main processing device is higher than the height position of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table provided in the first housing in the main processing device. Hand set in position Processing apparatus characterized by comprising comprises a and. 10. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, a first housing in which the cassette mounting section is provided, and A first transporting unit that is provided in one housing for loading and unloading the object to be processed from the cassette; a processing unit including a plurality of processing units for processing the object to be processed; and a processing unit including the processing unit. Two housings, a second transfer unit that is provided in the second housing and transfers the object to be processed to a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units, and is provided in the first housing. Delivery means for delivering the object to be processed between the first carrying means and the second carrying means, and the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units by the second carrying means The height position of the A processing device, comprising means for setting the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table provided in the first housing to a position higher than a height position in the present processing device. 11. A cassette mounting section having a cassette mounting table having a mounting surface for mounting at least one cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed, and the cassette mounting section provided on the cassette mounting section, First transfer means for loading and unloading the object to be processed, a processing section including a plurality of processing units for processing the object, and a predetermined processing unit among the plurality of processing units provided in the processing section On the other hand, the second carrying means for carrying in and carrying out the object to be processed, and the height position in the main processing apparatus of the object to be carried in and carried out to and from the plurality of processing units by the second carrying means are set to the cassette. In the processing device, which comprises means for setting the cassette mounting surface of the mounting table to a position higher than the height position in the present processing device, the object to be carried in and out of the plurality of processing units. The height of the physical object in the main processing apparatus is higher than the height of the cassette mounting surface of the cassette mounting table in the main processing apparatus. Characterized processing method.