Substrate carrying device, substrate carrying method

A substrate carrying device capable of causing a substrate to float by a gas can be manufactured at a low manufacturing cost and can suppress the consumption of a gas for carrying the substrate. The substrate carrying device includes a carrying passage forming member forming a carrying passage along which a substrate is carried, exhaust grooves extending parallel to the carrying passage in the upper surface of the carrying passage forming member, a plurality of pairs each of right and left carrying gas flow grooves formed in the upper surface of the carrying passage forming member, inclined toa substrate carrying direction so as to approach the exhaust grooves from the right-hand side and the left-hand side of the exhaust grooves, respectively, and having inner ends joined to the exhaustgrooves, respectively, and gas spouting pores formed near outer ends of the carrying gas flow grooves to spout a gas for causing the substrate to float and for creating substrate carrying gas flows flowing from the outer ends of the carrying gas flow grooves toward the inner ends of the carrying gas flow grooves. The gas spouted through the gas spouting pores causes the substrate to float and creates gas flows in the carrying gas flow grooves to propel the substrate in a carrying direction. The carrying passage is divided with respect to the carrying direction into passage sections, and the spouting of the gas through groups of the gas spouting pores assigned respectively to the passage sections is controlled to suppress the consumption of the gas.