Layout is a critical portion of good power supply design. See Figure 10-1 for a PCB layout example. Key guidelines to follow for the layout are:
- VIN, PGND, and SW traces must be as wide as
possible to reduce trace impedance and improve
heat dissipation.
- Place a 10-nF to 100-nF capacitor from each VIN to PGND pin and place them
as close as possible to the device (It is recommended the edge of input
bypass capacitor pads to be no more than 8 mils away from the VIN pin).
Place the remaining ceramic input capacitance next to these high
frequency bypass capacitors.
- Use multiple vias near the PGND pins and use the layer directly below the device to connect them together. This helps to minimize noise and can help heat dissipation.
- Use vias near both VIN pins and provide a low impedance connection between them through an internal layer.
- Place the inductor as close as possible to the device to minimize the length of the SW node routing.
- Place the BOOT-SW capacitor as close as possible to the BOOT and SW pins. If a
boot resistor is needed, the value of the resistor
should be no more than 10 Ω.
- Place the BP5 capacitor as close as possible to the BP5 and PGND
pins.
- Place the bottom resistor in the FB divider as close as possible to the FB and AGND pins of the IC. Also keep the upper feedback resistor and the feedforward capacitor, if used, near the IC. Connect the FB divider to the output voltage at the desired point of regulation.
- Return the MODE1 and MODE2 resistors to a quiet AGND island.
- Use multiple vias in the AGND island to connect it back to internal PGND layers. Place the vias near the BP5 cap but away from the bottom FB resistor.