EP1C6F256C8 - Cyclone FPGA 5980 LE, 185 I/O | Altera
MPN: EP1C6F256C8 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29.72 | $29.72 |
| 10 | $28.5 | $285.00 |
| 100 | $26.9 | $2,690.00 |
| 500 | $24.9 | $12,450.00 |
| 1,000 | $22.5 | $22,500.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1C6F256C8 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP1C6F256C7
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$17.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C6F256C6
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$38.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C6F256I7
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$23.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C6F256I6
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1C6F256C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$18.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C6F256C8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Manufacturer | Altera Corporation (acquired by Intel) |
| FPGA Family | Cyclone |
| Product Type | Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) |
| Number of Logic Elements | 5980 |
| Total RAM Bits | 92160 |
| User I/O | 185 |
| Package Type | 256-BGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Number of Pins or Terminals | 256 |
| Operating Clock Speed | 275.03 MHz |
| Speed Grade | 8 |
| Configuration Technology | SRAM-based |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | unknown |
EP1C6F256C8 256-bga (fineline bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C6F256C8 (256-bga (fineline bga) package) with 256 pins. This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
No detailed pinout data available for EP1C6F256C8.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 256 pins (digital package)
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
EP1C6F256C8 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Controller, Multi-Protocol Communication Bridge, Medical Patient Monitor Front-End Logic, LED Display Video Scanner, IoT Edge Gateway Logic, Data Acquisition and Test Instrumentation.
Industrial Motor Controller
The EP1C6F256C8 is well suited for an industrial motor controller because its 5,980 logic elements can implement pulse-train generation, quadrature encoder decoding, and safety logic in parallel. The 185 user I/O pins allow direct connection to optocouplers, encoder inputs, and an external host MCU bus without additional CPLD glue logic. Its 92,160 bits of RAM provide small FIFOs for status and command messages. The high I/O count also simplifies connecting multiple current-sense and limit-switch inputs on the same board. Designers should place the FPGA near the MCU and isolate noisy motor-side signals, because the SRAM-based device must be configured at every power-up. Speed grade 8 is often sufficient for 100–200 MHz-level logic; if timing margins are tight, an I7 or C7 drop-in variant can be used on the same PCB footprint.
Recommended
Multi-Protocol Communication Bridge
EP1C6F256C8 can serve as a multi-protocol communication bridge by implementing multiple soft UART, SPI, or custom parallel interfaces in its programmable fabric. With 185 user I/O pins, the device can connect to several microcontrollers, sensors, and industrial buses simultaneously. Its 92,160 RAM bits are useful for packet buffering and flow-control FIFOs, while 5,980 logic elements are enough to handle the protocol state machines and data formatting logic. The reported 275.03 MHz clock capability gives headroom for bit-serial protocols running at several megabits per second. Because the Cyclone device is volatile, the bridge firmware must be loaded from an external configuration memory at startup. For lead-free manufacturing, designers should choose an N-suffix variant or confirm finish compatibility with the existing PCB assembly process.
Recommended
Medical Patient Monitor Front-End Logic
In a medical patient monitor, the EP1C6F256C8 can handle sample-clock generation, data serialization, alarm limit checks, and communication formatting between analog front-end ADCs and a host processor. The 5,980 logic elements provide ample capacity for filtering state machines, and the 92,160 RAM bits can hold small waveform buffers. The 185 I/O pins allow connecting multiple serial ADCs, DACs, and control lines with voltage-level flexibility. The commercial C8 temperature variant is appropriate in controlled indoor medical environments where ambient temperature is stable. Designers must be careful with EMC and isolation requirements, and should include JTAG for field updates. Using a faster C7 or industrial I7 variant is possible on the same board if future firmware requires additional timing margin or the equipment is expected to operate over a wider ambient range.
Recommended
LED Display Video Scanner
The EP1C6F256C8 can drive multiple LED display panels by providing timing generation, row scanning, and pixel data serialization in parallel. Its 185 user I/O pins are useful for splitting high-speed pixel data into multiple parallel color columns, while 92,160 RAM bits can buffer lines of video data and perform gamma correction lookup with small LUTs. The 5,980 logic elements are more than enough for scan controllers and shift-register drivers used in many indoor LED signs. The 256-BGA package can be fanned out to a compact driver board. However, for outdoor signage operating at high ambient temperatures, an I7 or I6 industrial-temperature variant is recommended because the standard C8 temperature grade may not cover the full enclosure temperature range. Verify the I/O voltage rails match the LED driver logic levels before committing the design.
Recommended
IoT Edge Gateway Logic
EP1C6F256C8 can be used in an IoT edge gateway to preprocess sensor streams, arbitrate wired and wireless module interfaces, and manage wake-up events before forwarding data to a host application processor. The FPGA provides deterministic parallel handling of multiple UART, SPI, and memory-mapped interfaces, effectively offloading protocol work from an MCU. With 5,980 logic elements and 185 I/O pins, a designer can implement a soft interrupt controller, FIFO manager, and simple packet parser in one device. The 92,160 RAM bits are sufficient for small packet queues. Since the C8 speed grade is adequate for most low-frequency control and interface logic, it is a cost-sensitive solution; if the gateway operates near a heat source or outdoors, select an industrial-temperature Cyclone variant rather than the commercial C8 device.
Recommended
Data Acquisition and Test Instrumentation
The EP1C6F256C8 is useful in data acquisition and test instrumentation because it can generate precise acquisition timing, capture parallel ADC results, and stream data to a host via a memory-mapped interface. The FPGA’s 5,980 logic elements implement state machines for sequencing and trigger control, while 92,160 RAM bits provide buffers for burst capture before DMA transfer. With 185 user I/O pins, the device can connect to multiple 8-bit or 16-bit ADCs and DACs plus external triggers. The 256-BGA package allows a dense layout on a PCIe-style or USB-based instrument board. For benchtop instruments operating in a controlled lab environment, the commercial C8 grade is normally adequate; for portable or field testers, use the industrial-temperature variant to support a wider ambient range.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C6F256C8 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C6F256C7 | EP1C6F256C6 | EP1C6F256I7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 256-BGA (FBGA) | 256-BGA (FBGA) - same | 256-BGA (FBGA) - same | 256-BGA (FBGA) - same |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| FPGA Family | Cyclone | Cyclone | Cyclone | Cyclone |
| Number of Logic Elements | 5980 | 5980 | 5980 | 5980 |
| Total RAM Bits | 92160 | 92160 | 92160 | 92160 |
| User I/O | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 |
| Speed Grade | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (C suffix) | Commercial (C suffix) | Commercial (C suffix) | Industrial (I suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Cost-oriented commercial speed-grade 8 member of the Cyclone F256 family (vs EP1C6F256C6)
- Commercial-temperature offering avoids industrial-temperature cost overhead (vs EP1C6F256I7)
- Proprietary Altera/Intel ball map gives controlled drop-in path (vs Xilinx Spartan-class FPGAs in similar BGA packages)
Design Notes
The EP1C6F256C8 is an SRAM-based FPGA and requires clean core and I/O supply rails during operation and configuration. Use low-impedance power planes under the 256-BGA device and place 0.1 uF ceramic capacitors as close as possible to each VCC and GND ball pair. Add 10 uF bulk capacitance per supply rail in the FPGA power area. Avoid sharing the FPGA core supply with high-current motors or relays unless separated by an LC filter, because noise on the core supply can cause configuration errors or intermittent logic failures.
For a 256-ball FineLine BGA, use a four-layer or higher stackup with solid ground and power planes. Route FPGA signals with controlled impedance only when connecting to high-speed memory or serial interfaces; most 275 MHz internal logic is less sensitive to trace impedance than to cross-talk. Use via-in-pad or dog-bone fanout following the FPGA package manufacturer guidance. Keep JTAG and configuration lines short, and assign unused I/O pins carefully to prevent accidental output contention during configuration before the FPGA bitstream defines their directions.
Because the EP1C6F256C8 uses volatile SRAM configuration, never power the FPGA without a valid configuration source connected at reset. Ensure the configuration device is programmed and that the FPGA’s CONF_DONE and nSTATUS signals are monitored by the host. If using the C8 speed grade in a high-temperature enclosure, verify that the timing margins and ambient temperature are within the device’s commercial range. For long production life, confirm whether a lead-free N-suffix variant is required by the assembly house; older non-N parts may contain tin-lead finish.
Compliance Information
Compliance status is not explicitly stated in the provided distributor snippets. The part number does not include the N lead-free suffix, so verify actual finish and RoHS status from device marking or manufacturer documentation before assembly.
