Drying apparatus with exhaust control cap for semiconductor wafers and associated methods

1. A drying apparatus for drying a semiconductor wafer comprising:

a processing chamber comprising a rinsing section and a drying section adjacent thereto, with the rinsing section having a chamber loading slot associated therewith for receiving the semiconductor wafer, and with the drying section having a chamber unloading slot associated therewith for outputting the semiconductor wafer; and

an exhaust control cap carried by said processing chamber and comprising a bottom wall, a top wall, at least one intermediate wall between said bottom and top walls, and spaced apart outer side walls coupled to said top wall, said bottom wall and said at least one intermediate wall to define a plurality of stacked exhaust sections, with each stacked exhaust section extending between said spaced apart outer side walls, said exhaust control cap having

a cap loading slot extending through said bottom wall, said top wall, and said at the least one intermediate wall and aligned with the chamber loading slot,

a cap unloading slot extending through said bottom wall, said top wall, and said at the least one intermediate wall and aligned with the chamber unloading slot, and

at least one exhaust port in one of said outer side walls and configured to be coupled to a vacuum source.

2. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cap and chamber loading slots are aligned in a non-vertical direction with respect to an upper surface of said processing chamber, and wherein the cap and chamber unloading slots are also aligned in a non-vertical direction with respect to the upper surface of said processing chamber.

3. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one hollow section.

4. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one baffled section.

5. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one chemical species trap section.

6. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one exhaust port comprises at least one exhaust port for each stacked exhaust section.

7. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said exhaust control cap further comprises:

at least one cap loading slot door slideably positioned over the cap loading slot; and

at least one cap unloading slot door slideably positioned over the cap unloading slot.

8. The drying apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a door controller configured to operate said at least one cap loading and unloading slot doors based on a position of the semiconductor wafer.

9. The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising the vacuum source coupled to said at least one exhaust port.

10. An exhaust control cap for a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus comprising a processing chamber having a chamber loading slot for receiving a semiconductor wafer and a chamber unloading slot for outputting the semiconductor wafer, the exhaust control cap comprising:

a plurality of stacked exhaust sections defined by a bottom wall, a top wall, at least one intermediate wall, and spaced apart outer side walls coupled to said top wall, said bottom wall and said at least one intermediate wall, with each stacked exhaust section extending between said spaced apart outer side walls;

said plurality of stacked exhaust sections having

a cap loading slot extending through said bottom wall, said top wall, and said at the least one intermediate wall and configured to be aligned with the chamber loading slot in the processing chamber,

a cap unloading slot extending through said bottom wall, said top wall, and said at the least one intermediate wall and configured to be aligned with the chamber unloading slot in the processing chamber,

with the cap loading slot being spaced apart from the cap unloading slot, and

at least one exhaust port in one of said outer side walls and configured to be coupled to a vacuum source.

11. The exhaust control cap according to claim 10 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one hollow section.

12. The exhaust control cap according to claim 10 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one baffled section.

13. The exhaust control cap according to claim 10 , wherein said plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one chemical species trap section.

14. The exhaust control cap according to claim 10 , wherein said at least one exhaust port comprises at least one exhaust port for each exhaust section.

15. The exhaust control cap according to claim 10 , further comprising:

at least one cap loading slot door slideably positioned over the cap loading slot; and

at least one cap unloading slot door slideably positioned over the cap unloading slot.

16. The exhaust control cap according to claim 15 , further comprising a door controller configured to operate said at least one cap loading and unloading slot doors based on a position of the semiconductor wafer.

17. A method for making an exhaust control cap for a semiconductor wafer drying apparatus comprising:

forming a plurality of stacked exhaust sections defined by a bottom wall, a top wall, at least one intermediate wall, and spaced apart outer side walls coupled to the bottom wall, the top wall and the at least one intermediate wall, with each stacked exhaust section extending between the spaced apart outer side walls;

forming a cap loading slot extending through the bottom wall, the top wall, and the at the least one intermediate wall and to be aligned with a chamber loading slot in the drying apparatus;

forming a cap unloading slot extending through the bottom wall, the top wall, and the at the least one intermediate wall and to be aligned with a chamber unloading slot in the drying apparatus, with the cap loading slot being spaced apart from the cap unloading slot; and

forming at least one exhaust port in one of the outer side walls for the plurality of stacked exhaust sections to be coupled to a vacuum source.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the cap and chamber loading slots are aligned in a non-vertical direction with respect to an upper surface of the drying apparatus, and wherein the cap and chamber unloading slots are also aligned in a non-vertical direction with respect to the upper surface of the drying apparatus.

19. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one hollow section.

20. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of stacked exhaust sections includes at least one baffled section.

21. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the plurality of stacked sections includes at least one chemical species trap section.

22. The method according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one exhaust port comprises at least one exhaust port for each exhaust section.

23. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising:

forming at least one cap loading slot door slideably positioned over the cap loading slot; and

forming at least one cap unloading slot door slideably positioned over the cap unloading slot.

24. The method according to claim 23 , further comprising providing a door controller configured to operate the at least one cap loading and unloading slot doors based on a position of the semiconductor wafer.