Polymers for RF apps

The demand for increasingly higher rates of data, voice, and video transmission, together with miniaturization of portable and wireless technologies, has driven the need for high-performance applications that have become a major aspect of every day life. From hundreds of megahertz to millimeter-wave frequencies, the evolution of wireless communications has led to several indispensable technologies such as cellular communications, wireless local area networks (WLAN), ultra-wideband (UWB), and wireless personal area networks (WPAN). Consumer driven, the need for accessing these radio technologies has been pushing radio-frequency (RF) engineers toward achieving low-cost and ultraminiaturized solutions. With the need for more flexible, light weight, and reconfigurable systems, these solutions are beginning to have an impact on space and defense applications as well.