A microwave oven capable of selectively heating only desired areas or targets has been developed and is expected to contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality by reducing unnecessary energy wasted in industrial heat treatment processes, such as those for semiconductors.

Dr. Soon-Shin Jeong's team at the Electric Environment Research Center of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI, President Myung-Ho Myeong) announced on the 6th that they have developed core source technology for a next-generation 'smart microwave oven' capable of heating a desired location or object to the desired temperature only as much as needed.

Microwave ovens, which heat food using microwaves—a type of electromagnetic wave—have long been established as essential household appliances. However, because microwave waves vary in intensity spatially and cannot be individually controlled, heating is often uneven, leading to many inconveniences.

KERI’s achievement in solving this is the so-called ‘Smart Microwave Heating Technology,’ which allows the wavelength of microwaves to be significantly changed with just slight frequency adjustment, enabling the user to heat only the desired area as much as needed. The basic principle is a method of controlling the heating location by adjusting the spatial distribution of microwaves through the arbitrary expansion and contraction of the microwave wavelength.

The research team utilized a frequency modulation method to provide rapid and precise wavelength changes. Typically, devices utilizing electromagnetic waves have an permitted frequency band; however, previously, changing the frequency resulted in minimal changes to the wavelength, making it difficult to reach the stage of actual application.

On the other hand, if the technology developed by KERI after years of effort is utilized, adjusting the frequency by just 1% can result in a wavelength change that is as much as 100 times greater than the existing one.

The fact that the microwave heating position can be widely controlled through such wavelength changes means that both 'uniform heating' and 'targeted heating' are possible.

The KERI research team's level of 'uniform heating' is world-class, and when heating a workpiece, it heats it evenly so that the overall temperature difference is almost less than 10%.

'Targeted Heating' reflects the target temperature for each part of the object to be heated; when the user sets the heating location, it concentrates heating on that area to the desired temperature.

If this is further developed, it is possible to heat various foods together to different desired temperatures.

This technology can be applied to next-generation 'smart microwave ovens' for home and commercial use, and in industry, it can be utilized for efficient heating in various production processes for semiconductors, automobiles, carbon fiber, diamonds, and more.

Currently, Korea's heat treatment energy efficiency is only about 60% of that of developed countries, but it is expected that microwave heating technology can minimize energy loss and contribute significantly to the government's realization of carbon neutrality.

Dr. Jung Soon-shin of KERI stated, “This is the world’s first achievement to control the heating position by significantly changing the wavelength with slight frequency adjustments. It is a groundbreaking technology that enhances user convenience and reduces energy consumed by heating unnecessary objects,” adding, “Through continuous research "We want to develop a technology that can effectively heat even metals that do not heat well with microwaves, and significantly expand the range of applications," he stated.

Meanwhile, the research results related to this achievement were recognized for their high level of technology, with papers published in 'Applied Thermal Engineering' and 'Journal of Materials Chemistry A,' SCI-indexed international academic journals holding global authority in the fields of thermal engineering and electrical materials, respectively.

KERI, having completed domestic and international patent applications related to the source technology, anticipates that this achievement will attract significant interest from various industries requiring efficient heating, and plans to identify relevant potential customers and pursue technology transfer.