A device that fits inside a transport pod communicating with the slots of
the transport pod so that the device can be inserted and removed from the
transport pod. The transport pods are for silicon wafers. The device has
sensors that monitor the environment within the transport pod. Depending
on the device's size, silicon wafers may be able to accompany the device
so that the device can monitor the precise environment the silicon wafers
are exposed to while inside the transport pod. The device may also be
placed in a transport pod and run through the manufacturing process as
one transport pod in a series. The results on the environmental
monitoring can be used for alarms and monitoring or data logging to
improve the yield of the silicon wafers.