US Patent 7229240 Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

When the processing temperature in a heater should be changed between lots, for example, a foremost substrate in a subsequent lot is transported to a position close to the heater such as a substrate holding part, and is held in standby thereat until adjustment of a processing environment (namely, change of the processing temperature) is completed. The substrate held in standby is thereafter transported to the heater. As compared with the case in which substrates are placed in standby in an indexer, substrates can be fed faster to the heater after change of the processing temperature, thereby suppressing throughput reduction.