11.1 Layout Guidelines
Good layout is essential for stable power-supply operation. Follow these guidelines for an efficient PCB layout.
11.1.1 Placement
- Place voltage setting resistors close to the device pins.
- Place bypass capacitors for the VREG5 and VREG3 regulators close to the device pins.
11.1.2 Routing (Sensitive Analog Portion)
- Use small copper space for the VFBx pins. Short and narrow traces are available to avoid noise coupling.
- Connect the VFB resistor trace to the positive node of the output capacitor. Routing the inner layer away from power traces is recommended.
- Use short and wide trace from the VFB resistor to vias to GND (internal GND plane).
11.1.3 Routing (Power portion)
- Use wider and shorter traces of the DRVLx pin for the low-side gate drivers to reduce stray inductance.
- Use the parallel traces of the SWx and DRVHx pins for the high-side MOSFET gate drive in a same layer or on adjoin layers, and keep these traces away from the DRVLx pin.
- Use wider and shorter traces between the source terminal of the high-side MOSFET and the drain terminal of the low-side MOSFET
- The thermal pad is the GND terminal of this device. Five or more vias with 0.33-mm (13-mils) diameter connected from the thermal pad to the internal GND plane should be used to have strong GND connection and help heat dissipation.