Improved Tuning of a Microwave Cavity for Heating Samples

A technique for adjusting the resonance frequency of a single-mode round cylindrical microwave cavity has been proposed to maximize the transfer of power from a magnetron to one or more sample(s) of material that have been placed in the cavity for microwave heating. Unlike an older technique that involves insertion of a dielectric stub into the cavity from an off-axis position, the proposed technique would preserve the desired angular symmetry of the electromagnetic mode. Unlike another older technique that involves moving a plunger along the cylindrical (z) axis, the proposed technique would be applicable to z-independent as well as to z-dependent modes.