11.1.1 Ground and Thermal Considerations

As previously mentioned, TI recommends using one of the middle layers as a solid ground plane. A ground plane provides shielding for sensitive circuits and traces as well as a quiet reference potential for the control circuitry. Connect the PGND pin to the ground planes using vias next to the bypass capacitors. The PGND pin is connected directly to the source of the low-side MOSFET switch and is also connected directly to the grounds of the input and output capacitors. The PGND net contains noise at the switching frequency and can bounce due to load variations. The PGND trace, as well as the VIN and SW traces, must be constrained to one side of the ground planes. The other side of the ground plane contains much less noise; use it for sensitive routes.

Use as much copper as possible for the 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 as: 2 oz / 1 oz / 1 oz / 2 oz. A four-layer board with enough copper thickness, and proper layout, provides low current conduction impedance, proper shielding, and lower thermal resistance.