Abstract
If a material absorbs microwave energy well, the material can be heated through microwave-material interactions. The interactions are identified as energy losses in the material, resulting in rapid volumetric heating. During our extensive study on microwave processing of inorganic materials, it is concluded that conduction in solids due to the mobile electrons, holes, or ions is the most important mechanism for coupling millimeter-wave energy in solid state materials. Various conductive oxides were synthesized by microwave irradiation using 28 GHz frequency. The current topics of microwave processing of conductive oxides achieved in our laboratory are presented. The topics include examples of defect formation, rapid grain growth, and the importance of microwave penetration depth on processing of conductive materials.
