A New Setup for Microwave Exposure to Pathogenic Samples

Abstract

Several studies have focused on the inactivation of biological microorganisms, such as viruses, using microwave exposure and have introduced some apparatuses. This paper represents a feasibility study of the inactivation of pathogens by fabricating a new, but very simple electromagnetic exposure test setup. The setup has the advantage of having uniform electric field radiation on multiple test tubes simultaneously. The test setup operates from 8 to 9 GHz. The radiation unit in the test setup consists of two circular parallel plates and can be considered a parallel-plane radial transmission line. Five equispaced holes are embedded in the setup to insert test tubes containing samples. The study also takes the distribution of the field inside the liquids of the test tubes. The results demonstrate that without inserting the test tubes, the TEM wave propagates in the radiation unit while inserting the test tubes creates a standing wave inside the test tubes. The setup can create E-field levels of more than 100 V/m from 0.5 Watts input power inside the liquid which is much better than using open-air methods.