a vacuum processing apparatus includes vacuum processing chambers for subjecting a sample to vacuum processing , a vacuum carriage , a switchable chamber , a cassette support for supporting a plurality of cassettes capable of housing samples , and a waiting cassette support for supporting a waiting cassette that differs from the cassettes supported on the cassette support and capable of having a number of samples . an atmospheric carriage enables carrying a sample among a given cassette of the plurality of cassettes or the waiting cassette . a controller effects control for carrying unprocessed and processed samples among the given cassette , the waiting cassette and the vacuum processing chamber , so that a mixture of both processed and unprocessed samples does not exist in the given cassette or the waiting cassette .