Method and apparatus for electromagnetic exposure of planar or other materials

A method for heating a material, the method comprising the steps of:

• passing the material through an opening into an interior cavity between a top conducting surface and a bottom conducting surface;
• and
• delivering an electromagnetic wave to the interior cavity, the electromagnetic wave creating an electromagnetic field between the top conducting surface and the bottom conducting surface;
• wherein the interior cavity has a first end and a second end and the opening is such that the substance is exposed to a more off peak region of the electromagnetic field at the first end than at the second end.

A device for heating a material, the device comprising:

• a first conducting surface;
• a second conducting surface, the second conducting surface opposite the first conducting surface;
• a source, the source operable to create an electromagnetic field between the first conducting surface and the second conducting surface;
• and
• an opening through a surface connecting the first conducting surface and the second conducting surface, the opening being positioned such that a region of a material passed through the opening is exposed to an off-peak region of the electromagnetic field between the two conducting surfaces.

A device for heating a material, the device comprising:

• a path for an electromagnetic wave, the path having a first segment and a second segment, the first segment and the second segment connected by a curved segment;
• the first segment and the second segment each having at least two conducting surfaces, the electromagnetic wave creating a electromagnetic field between the two conducting surfaces;
• the first segment and the second segment each having an opening, the opening to the first segment aligned with the opening to the second segment so that the material can travel through the first segment and the second segment;
• the opening to the first segment positioned such that the material is exposed to an off-peak region of the electromagnetic field between the two conducting surfaces of the first segment.