For best overall performance, place all circuit components on the same side of the printed circuit board (PCB) and as near as practical to the respective LDO pin connections. Place ground return connections for the input and output capacitors as close to the GND pin as possible, using wide, component-side, copper planes. Do not use vias and long traces to create LDO circuit connections to the input capacitor, output capacitor, or the resistor divider because this practice negatively affects system performance. This grounding and layout scheme minimizes inductive parasitics, and thereby reduces load current transients, minimizes noise, and increases circuit stability. A ground reference plane is also recommended and is either embedded in the PCB or located on the bottom side of the PCB opposite the components. This reference plane serves to design for the accuracy of the output voltage and shield the LDO from noise.