How does packaging affect LDO selection?
LDO selection involves meeting the required performance of the specific application with regulators having package types which can fit into the available PCB space. This tradeoff includes the LDO”s power dissipation, output current, dropout voltage, and pin count. Normally, the higher the dissipation and output current, and the lower the dropout voltage, the larger the die becomes and its required package. Also, LDO reliability depends on the packages thermal resistance from junction-to-ambient (RJA), which determines its temperature rise per watt of dissipation. The lower the thermal resistance, the more efficiently the package can eliminate heat and the better the reliability.
