Texas Instruments recommends a thermal design with a heat sink and thermal interface material to maintain a junction temperature below 105°C. A minimum of 2-3 inches of clearance around the device is recommended for airflow.
To optimize power consumption, use the lowest possible voltage and frequency for your application. Enable power-saving features like dynamic voltage and frequency scaling, and use the idle and sleep modes when the processor is not in use.
Follow Texas Instruments' recommended PCB layout and routing guidelines, including using a 4-layer board, separating analog and digital signals, and minimizing signal trace lengths. Use a solid ground plane and decouple power supplies to reduce noise and EMI.
Use a reliable power-on reset circuit, ensure a stable clock source, and implement a robust boot loader that can recover from errors. Verify the integrity of the boot image and ensure that the device is properly configured for the target application.
Common pitfalls include inadequate thermal design, poor power supply decoupling, and insufficient signal integrity. Avoid over-clocking, under-specifying the power supply, and neglecting to implement proper EMI and ESD protection.