The are various applications of microwaves or we can say the application of microwaves can be broadly classified because of their use in various fields including cooking, long ranger communications, etc. The foundation of modern electronics and communications environment using radio frequency (RF) and microwaves were laid in the nineteenth century, named after Michael Faraday’s observations of magnetic field on light propagation in 1845, and James C Maxwell’s derivation of four basic equations of the electromagnetic theory of light.
Because of the short physical wavelength of these frequencies, they present several unique features. Hence, they are suitable for various unique and specific applications, starting from short-distance to long-distance communication, from detecting a target at a short distance to identifying start light-years away from identifying a small object to mapping the surface of a planet, from the study of a linear particle accelerator to that of plasma, from domestic cooking to industrial heating and many more. The applications of microwaves may be divided broadly in the area as appended below.
let’s see all the Applications of Microwaves
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Applications of Microwaves in the field of communications
- Before the advent of fiber optic transmission, most long-distance telephone calls were well carried via microwave point-to-point links through sites like the AT&T Long Lines. Starting in the early 1950’s frequency was used to send up to 5,400 telephone channels on each microwave radio channel combined into one antenna or the hop to the next site, up to 70 km away.
- Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11 specifications, also use the microwave in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 8.2.11a uses the ISM band and U-NII frequencies in the 5 GHz range. Licensed long-range (up to about 25 km). Wireless Internet Access services can be found in many countries in the 3.5 – 4.0 GHz range.
- Metropolitan Area Networks: MAN protocols, such as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) based on the IEEE 8.2.16 specification. The IEEE 8.2.16 specification was designed to operate between 2 to 11 GHz. The commercial implementations are in the 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, and 5.8GHz ranges.
- Wide Area Mobile Broadband Wireless Access: MBWA protocols based on standards specifications such as IEEE 8.2.20 or ATIS/ANSI HC-SDMA (e.g. iBurst) are designed to operate between 1.6 and 2.3GHz to give mobility and in-building penetration characteristics similar to mobile phones but with vastly greater spectral efficiency.
- Cable TV and Internet access on coaxial cable as well as broadcast television use some of the lower microwave frequencies. Some mobile phone networks, like GSM, also use lower microwave frequencies.
- Microwave radio is used in broadcasting and telecommunication transmissions because, due to their short wavelength, highly directive antennas are smaller and therefore more practical than they would be at longer wavelengths (lower frequencies). There is also more bandwidth in the microwave spectrum than in the rest of the radio spectrum; the usable bandwidth below 300 MHz is less than 300 MHz while many GHz can be used above 300 MHz. Typically, microwaves are used in television news to transmit a signal from a remote location to a television station from a specially equipped van.
You can check other various communication projects.
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Applications of Microwaves in the field of Remote Sensing
- Radio Detecting and ranging (RADAR) uses microwave radiation to detect the range, speed, and other characteristics of remote objects. The development of radar was accelerated during World War II due to its great military utility. Now radar is widely used for applications such as air traffic control, navigation of ships, and speed limit enforcement, whether monitoring and predication or geological survey.
- A Gunn diode oscillator and waveguide are used as motion detectors for automatic door openers (although these are being replaced by ultrasonic devices).
- Radiometry, and spectrometry for the study of naturally propagated EM waves.
- Radio astronomy.
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Applications of Microwaves in the field of Biomedical
- Microwave imaging, photo-acoustic imaging in biomedicine.
- Thermotherapy, LASER therapy for cancer cell treatment.
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Applications of Microwaves in the field of Navigation
- Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) including the American Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS broadcast navigational signals in various bands between about 1.2 GHz and 1.6 GHz.
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Applications of Microwaves in the field of Power
- A microwave passes (non-ionizing) microwave radiation (at a frequency near 2.45 GHz) through food, causing dielectric heating by absorption of energy in the water, fats, and sugar contained in the food. Microwave ovens become common kitchen appliances in Western countries in the late 1970s, following the development of expensive cavity magnetrons.
- Microwave heating is used in industrial processes for drying and curing products.
- Many semiconductor processing techniques use microwaves to generate plasma for such purposes as reactive ion etching and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD).
- Microwaves can be used to transmit power over long distances, and post-World War II research was done to examine possibilities. NASA worked in the 1970s and early 1980s to research the possibilities of using Solar power satellite (SPS) systems with large solar arrays that would be powered down to the Earth’s surface via microwaves.
- less-than-lethal weaponry exists that uses millimeter waves to heat a thin layer of human skin to an intolerable temperature so as to make the targeted person move away. A two-second burst of the 95 GHz focused beam heats the skin to a temperature of 130 F (540C) at a depth of 1/64th of an inch (0.4 mm). The United States Air Force and Marines are currently using this type of Active Denial System.
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