Patent 9394128 was granted and assigned to Hirata on July, 2016 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
This invention provides a transfer method of transferring, from a carrier including a placing portion on which a substrate is placed, and a cover that is superposed on the upper surface of the placing portion in close contact, the substrate held between the placing portion and the cover. The transfer method includes a holding step of holding the substrate and the cover on the placing portion by a holding apparatus, and a moving step of moving the holding apparatus to move the substrate and the cover from the placing portion to a transfer destination. In the holding step, the cover is held by the cover holding unit of the holding apparatus, and the substrate is held by the substrate holding unit of the holding apparatus in parallel postures of the cover and substrate.