Laser activatable polymer composition

1. A polymer composition comprising from about 40 wt % to about 80 wt. % of an aromatic polyester, from about 1 wt. % to about 10 wt. % of a laser activatable additive that includes spinel crystals, and from about 20 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of a mineral filler that includes talc particles, wherein the talc particles have a median size of about 35 micrometers or less and the spinel crystals have a mean size of from about 100 to about 800 nanometers.

2. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein at least about 70% by volume of the mineral filler has a size of about 35 micrometers or less and/or at least about 70% by volume of the laser activatable additive has a size of about from about 100 to about 800 nanometers.

3. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the aromatic polyester is a liquid crystalline polymer.

4. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the aromatic polyester contains aromatic ester repeating units, the aromatic ester repeating units including aromatic dicarboxylic acid repeating units and aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid repeating units.

5. The polymer composition of claim 4 , wherein the aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acid repeating units are derived from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, or a combination thereof and/or the aromatic dicarboxylic acid repeating units are derived from terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, or a combination thereof.

6. The polymer composition of claim 5 , wherein the aromatic polyester further contains hydroquinone, 4,4′-biphenol, acetaminophen, or a combination thereof.

7. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the aromatic polyester is wholly aromatic.

8. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the crystal has the following general formula AB 2 O 4 wherein, A is a metal cation having a valance of 2; and B is a metal cation having a valance of 3.

9. The polymer composition of claim 8 , wherein the spinel crystal is MgAl 2 O 4 , ZnAl 2 O 4 , FeAl 2 O 4 , CuFe 2 O 4 , CuCr 2 O 4 , MnFe 2 O 4 , NiFe 2 O 4 , TiFe 2 O 4 , FeCr 2 O 4 , MgCr 2 O 4 , or a combination thereof.

10. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the talc particles have a median size of about 10 micrometers or less.

11. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the mineral filler further includes calcium pyrophosphate.

12. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the mineral filler further includes wollastonite fibers.

13. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the mineral filler has a Mohs hardness value of about 2.5 or more.

14. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition has a Rockwell hardness value of about 45 or more, as determined in accordance with ISO 2039-2, Scale M.

15. A substrate comprising the polymer composition according to claim 1 .

16. The substrate of claim 15 , wherein the substrate is injection molded.

17. The substrate of claim 15 , wherein conductive pathways are disposed on a surface of the substrate.

18. The substrate of claim 17 , wherein at least one of the conductive pathways has a width from about 1 to about 50 micrometers.

19. The substrate of claim 17 , wherein at least two conductive pathways are spaced apart by a distance of from about 1 to about 80 micrometers.

20. The substrate of claim 17 , wherein the pitch between at least two conductive pathways is from about 1 to about 1500 micrometers.

21. A molded interconnect device comprising the substrate of claim 15 .

22. A camera module comprising the substrate of claim 15 .

23. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition is free of glass fibers.

24. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the talc particles have a median size of from about 1 micrometer to about 5 micrometers.

25. The polymer composition of claim 1 , wherein the spinel crystals have a mean particle size of from about 200 nanometers to about 700 nanometers.