For printed-circuit board (PCB) layout of the PCA9306-Q1, common PCB layout practices must be followed; however, additional concerns related to high-speed data transfer such as matched impedances and differential pairs are not a concern for I²C signal speeds.

In all PCB layouts, it is a best practice to avoid right angles in signal traces, to fan out signal traces away from each other upon leaving the vicinity of an integrated circuit (IC), and to use thicker trace widths to carry higher amounts of current that commonly pass through power and ground traces. The 100-pF filter capacitor must be placed as close to V_REF2 as possible. A larger decoupling capacitor can also be used, but a longer time constant of two capacitors and the 200-kΩ resistor results in longer turnon and turnoff times for the PCA9306-Q1 device. These best practices are shown in Figure 12-1.

For the layout example provided in Figure 12-1, it would be possible to fabricate a PCB with only two layers by using the top layer for signal routing and the bottom layer as a split plane for power (V_CC) and ground (GND). However, a four-layer board is preferable for boards with higher-density signal routing. On a four-layer PCB, it is common to route signals on the top and bottom layer, dedicate one internal layer to a ground plane, and dedicate the other internal layer to a power plane. In a board layout using planes or split planes for power and ground, vias are placed directly next to the surface-mount component pad, which must attach to V_CC or GND, and the via is connected electrically to the internal layer or the other side of the board. Vias are also used when a signal trace must be routed to the opposite side of the board, but this technique is not demonstrated in Figure 12-1.