How Freescale wants to revolutionize the microwave oven

No more alternating hot and cold bites, the new concept heats food evenly and offers various cooking methods.

The venerable microwave has been a staple of many kitchens for decades with only marginal changes to its fundamental design. While many consider it a kitchen essential, it does have some drawbacks: uneven heating, overcooking, and interference with other devices in the same frequency range.

Freescale Semiconductor, however, has some ideas on how to change that. At the recently concluded weeklong Freescale Technology Forum in Texas, the company introduced a new type of microwave oven called the Sage. The new-concept microwave oven uses solid-state RF, the same technology that Freescale adopts to power mobile phone towers. Typical microwave ovens use magnetrons to heat food.

Solid-state RF cooking can control where and how much heat should be directed into the food to maximize nutrition and taste, as well as save energy. Raw or frozen food can be cooked in a short span of time. Sage also has convection heating properties for browning and crisping, and can use other methods of cooking, including searing, and poaching. Standard microwave ovens can do so only with the usage of certain microwaveable packaging. Multiple emitters make it possible to simultaneously cook several dishes made of different components, drastically cutting down cooking and preparation time.

The Sage is equipped with smart features. It can go online via Wi-Fi, access, store recipes and cooking methods on a cloud database, and interact with others via online communities. Freescale is contemplating partnerships with groceries and other vendors to deliver meals ordered online.