In an exploratory effort to find a new way to make high-performance composites used in ballistic protective applications, matrix-free Spectra (R) fiber-reinforced polymeric composites are produced via a novel processing method called high-temperature high-pressure sintering. Mechanical testing at ambient and elevated temperatures proves that the fibers can maintain their properties after processing. The characteristics and properties of the final products vary with different processing conditions. Their microstructure and morphology were investigated using SEM and WAXD. Their mechanical properties, including interlayer adhesion, rigidity, and ballistic performance, were measured and compared with those of the conventional composites. The sintering mechanism is proposed and verified. Spectra cloth is capable of being shaped to produce complex double curvatures by a thermoforming process, using a simple hemispherical mold. Success in different molding sequences and procedures shows the versatility in manufacturing. The theoretical background for the thermoformability is explained in terms of molecular interaction, microstructure, and morphology. Selective thermomeebanical properties of the molded structures were measured. By combining the knowledge and information from the aforementioned studies, the process-structure-property relationship is established, which gives indepth and better understanding of this unique high-temperature high-pressure sintering process for consolidating Spectra cloth. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.