

I’ve never used or dissassembled an American microwave, so wouldn’t know about anything American-specific.
Having a ceramic plate at the end of the wave guide isn’t evidence that there’s not a wave stirrer on the other side of the plate or part way along the wave guide. As far as the microwaves are concerned, the ceramic plate is a hole, though, because (unless the manufacturer selected a stupid material), it should be about as transparent to microwaves as the air is.
No, they’re illegal several times over as you’ve got to pirate the thing in the first place to end up in a situation where you need one, and then they’re inherently a DRM circumvention device, which are illegal to possess, and then using them circumvents DRM, which is illegal to do. The upside is that you’re unlikely to be caught.