10.3 Thermal Considerations

Implementation of integrated circuits in low-profile and fine-pitch surface-mount packages typically requires special attention to power dissipation. Many system-dependent issues such as thermal coupling, airflow, added heat sinks and convection surfaces, and the presence of other heat-generating components affect the power dissipation limits of a given component.

Two basic approaches for enhancing thermal performance are:

• Improving the power dissipation capability of the PCB design
• Introducing airflow in the system

The big copper planes connecting to the pads of the IC on the PCB improve the thermal performance of the device. For more details on how to use the thermal parameters, see the Thermal Characteristics Application Notes, SZZA017 and SPRA953.