1 Background

Before examining how to simulate various loading conditions using the thermal PSpice models provided by Texas Instruments, it is important to know the capabilities and limitations of the model. Models with thermal modeling capabilities can provide a power insight on how the device will behave under various ambient and loading conditions; however, in real world applications various factors such as layout and solder coverage will affect the thermal performance of a high-side switch. All high-side switches are designed to perform optimally when using the JESD 51-7 board layout standard and the supported thermal models have been made to most closely match the JEDEC standard. When designing a schematic and engineering the board layout, it is important to follow data sheet recommendations to ensure that the thermal performance of the real world device on the PCB will closely match that of the board itself. It is also important to note that currently only a subset of PSpice models published on ti.com currently have thermal modeling capabilities. Refer to Section 2.3 for determining if a published model has the appropriate ambient temperature parameters for modeling thermal behavior.