Thermal Considerations

The DM9000B Ethernet controller on the EM203 can become very hot during normal operation. To help dissipate excess heat, a heat-conductive sticker is applied to the top of the DM9000B.

The EM203 module includes a heat-conductive sticker. The protective paper must be removed before installing the module onto the host PCB.

To further reduce the operating temperature of the EM203, we recommend incorporating a copper area on the host PCB in contact with the heat-conductive sticker.

The best results are achieved when:

• The copper area is as large as possible.
• Copper areas are provided on both sides of the host PCB and interconnected with multiple large vias.