The 175°C junction rating extends the safe operating area into high-ambient environments like an engine bay or a sealed power supply.
Total gate charge is 84 nC at 10 V. At a 100 kHz switching frequency the gate driver must source 8.4 mA average current; a 200 kHz design needs 16.8 mA.
D-Pak footprint — thermal and layout notes
The TO-252 (DPak) surface-mount package has an exposed drain tab. Without adequate thermal management the junction temperature rises above 175°C at high continuous current.