10.1.2 Ground Plane and Thermal Considerations

It is recommended to use one of the middle layers as a solid ground plane. Ground plane provides shielding for sensitive circuits and traces. It also provides a quiet reference potential for the control circuitry. The AGND and PGND pins should be connected to the ground plane using vias right next to the bypass capacitors. PGND pin is connected to the source of the internal LS switch. They should be connected directly to the grounds of the input and output capacitors. The PGND net contains noise at switching frequency and may bounce due to load variations. PGND trace, as well as VIN and SW traces, should be constrained to one side of the ground plane. The other side of the ground plane contains much less noise and should be used for sensitive routes.

It is recommended to provide adequate device heat sinking by utilizing the PAD of the IC as the primary thermal path. Use a minimum 4 by 2 array of 12 mil thermal vias to connect the PAD to the system ground plane heat sink. The vias should be evenly distributed under the PAD. Use as much copper as possible, for system ground plane, on the top and bottom layers for the best heat dissipation. Use a four-layer board with the copper thickness for the four layers, starting from the top of, 2 oz / 1 oz / 1 oz / 2 oz. Four layer boards with enough copper thickness provides low current conduction impedance, proper shielding and lower thermal resistance.

The thermal characteristics of the LMR23610 are specified using the parameter R_θJA, which characterize the junction temperature of silicon to the ambient temperature in a specific system. Although the value of R_θJA is dependent on many variables, it still can be used to approximate the operating junction temperature of the device. To obtain an estimate of the device junction temperature, one may use the following relationship:

The maximum operating junction temperature of the LMR23610 is 125°C. R_θJA is highly related to PCB size and layout, as well as environmental factors such as heat sinking and air flow.