A system packaging level approach on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) was proposed for low cost, lightweight, and compact wireless communication systems. Via technology was explored for V-band W-band transitions and an active cooling system that are essential for compact multilayer integration. RF MEMS switches were fabricated and integrated at the component level to enable multi-functional devices with optimal performance. A pattern reconfigurable antenna for MIMO applications and 3D phase shifters for phased array antennas that use RF MEMS switches were presented. In addition, a lightweight expandable array was designed and measured with up to 256 elements on multilayer LCP integrated at the system level. Furthermore, a 60 GHz multilayer transceiver front end device with simultaneous transmit and receive was designed and measured for low cost 60 GHz applications. The wide variety of multilayer LCP applications integrated at the system level shows a promising future for the next generation low cost lightweight wireless communication systems.

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