SPRAD61A March 2023 – November 2023 AM2732 , AM2732 , AM2732-Q1 , AM2732-Q1
All available ground return BGA balls should be utilized to create the best possible electrical and thermal connection between the AM273x package and the attached PCB. Roughly the center 7 x 7 BGA balls on the ZCE package and 5x6 BGA balls on the NZN package are dedicated to ground return with a few other I/O return paths placed near the edges of the BGA. For best thermal performance, solid ground return planes should be used directly under the BGA on as many layers as possible.
The AM273x contains both analog and digital ground return pins. Both analog and digital ground return pins should be shorted to a common set of ground return planes on the PCB for best noise and EMI performance as this creates the lowest possible impedance path for all return currents to follow. It is not recommended to separate these two return paths as this typically ends up with lower performance return paths for both digital and analog signal paths.