EP1M350B780C7 - 350K Gates Mercury FPGA, 780-Pin BGA | Altera
MPN: EP1M350B780C7 β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $145 | $145.00 |
| 10 | $132 | $1,320.00 |
| 100 | $118 | $11,800.00 |
| 500 | $105 | $52,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $92 | $92,000.00 |
EP1M350B780C7 Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor IC built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnects, and dedicated hard IP blocks such as transceivers, memory blocks, and DSP slices. Within the broader taxonomy, an FPGA sits under programmable logic devices (PLD), which themselves fall under the integrated circuit (IC) / semiconductor hierarchy. FPGAs occupy a unique design position: they deliver ASIC-class performance and parallel processing throughput while retaining in-system reprogrammability, making them ideal for prototyping, low-volume production, and designs requiring post-deployment field updates.
Key features of the EP1M350B780C7 include 350K equivalent system gates, multi-gigabit transceivers operating up to 1.25 Gbps, embedded LVDS-compatible I/O supporting DDR memory interfaces, a maximum user I/O count enabled by the large 780-ball BGA, and a 1.5 V core voltage with 3.3 V I/O tolerance. The device also supports Altera's SOPC Builder and Quartus II development flow, providing toolchain maturity for industrial and telecommunications designs.
Technically, the Mercury family pairs a 4-input LUT-based logic fabric with embedded transceiver macros and dual-port RAM blocks. This architecture targets high-speed serial backplane links, protocol bridging, and high-throughput data-path applications. Compared with lower-density ACEX/MAX families, the Mercury family's integrated transceivers eliminate the need for external SERDES components, simplifying board design and reducing BOM cost for multi-gigabit interfaces.
Typical applications include multi-gigabit serial backplane links, SONET/SDH framer interfaces, high-speed protocol bridges (PCI-X, RapidIO), telecommunications line cards, and DSP co-processing for wireless base stations. The 780-ball BGA package provides the routing escape and I/O density required for these high-pin-count designs.
Designers should note the Mercury family has been in production for a long time and may carry NRND or last-time-buy status at certain distributors. Verify current lifecycle via the manufacturer's PCN search before committing to new designs. Always use the latest Quartus II service pack for bitstream generation to avoid known hardware/software errata.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternative cross-references, and practical design notes not found in the standalone manufacturer datasheet, providing engineers with the cross-shopping context needed for supply chain resilience.
Drop-in alternatives for EP1M350B780C7 β same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with EP1M350B780C7 (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Manufacturer, Speed Grade, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP1M350B780C6
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$125 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1M350B780C5
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$92.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1M350B780C7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Mercury (EP1M) |
| Equivalent System Gates | 350,000 gates |
| Package | 780-ball FineLine BGA |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| I/O Voltage Tolerance | 3.3 V |
| Transceivers | Multi-gigabit serial transceivers (up to 1.25 Gbps) |
| Logic Block Architecture | 4-input LUT-based fabric with embedded memory |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 C (per distributor datasheet) |
| Operating Temperature Range | Commercial (0C to +85C) - C grade suffix |
| Configuration Interface | Altera enhanced configuration devices + JTAG |
| Development Tool | Quartus II (legacy) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP1M350B780C7 780-ball fineline bga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP1M350B780C7 (780-ball fineline bga package). 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 EP1M350B780C7.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP1M350B780C7 is suitable for 6 applications: SONET/SDH Telecom Line Card, Multi-Gigabit Serial Backplane Bridge, Wireless Base Station DSP Co-Processor, High-Speed Protocol Bridge (PCI-X to RapidIO), Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Storage Area Network (SAN) Switch ASIC Replacement.
SONET/SDH Telecom Line Card
The EP1M350B780C7 is well suited to SONET/SDH OC-48 (STM-16) framer line cards because its integrated multi-gigabit transceivers reach 1.25 Gbps, which matches the OC-48 serial rate. The 350K system gates provide sufficient fabric for framer state machines, pointer processing, and overhead insertion/extraction logic, while the 780-ball BGA breaks out the multiple high-speed serial lanes required for protection switching. The Quartus II SOPC flow allows designers to embed a Nios processor for card-level management, replacing an external microcontroller. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, typical reference designs implement OC-48 plus lower-speed tributaries on a single Mercury device.
Recommended
Multi-Gigabit Serial Backplane Bridge
The EP1M350B780C7 serves as a backplane bridge between legacy parallel buses and high-speed serial links. Its transceiver channels support Aurora protocol or custom SERDES links up to 1.25 Gbps, while the abundant logic fabric implements bus conversion (e.g., PCI-X to RapidIO or parallel RapidIO to serial). The 780-ball BGA provides the routing escape for both legacy parallel bus pins and modern serial differential pairs. Compared with external SERDES chip solutions, integrating the transceivers reduces BOM cost and PCB area while improving signal integrity through shorter on-die paths.
Recommended
Wireless Base Station DSP Co-Processor
Wireless base station channel cards in 2G/3G eras paired DSP co-processors with baseband processors to handle chip-rate processing, equalization, and forward error correction. The EP1M350B780C7's 350K gates and embedded RAM blocks execute correlators, FFT cores, and Viterbi decoders efficiently. The 1.5 V core lowers power per gate compared with older 5 V FPGAs, critical for densely populated base station racks. The device's JTAG configuration interface supports field firmware upgrades as 3GPP standards evolved. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, the fabric's deterministic timing simplifies timing closure for chip-rate signal paths.
Recommended
High-Speed Protocol Bridge (PCI-X to RapidIO)
The EP1M350B780C7 is commonly used as a bridge between processor buses (PCI-X, local bus) and serial interconnect fabrics like RapidIO or Serial RapidIO. The Mercury transceivers handle the physical layer while the 350K gates implement the transport layer, logical layer, and DMA engines. The 780-ball BGA provides ample user I/O for the parallel processor-side bus plus the serial link side. The Quartus II design flow includes reference designs for RapidIO endpoints and PCI-X target/initiator cores, reducing development time.
Recommended
Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP1M350B780C7 powers high-channel-count test and measurement platforms such as logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, and ATE pin electronics. The Mercury fabric implements timing generators, pattern sequencers, and result comparators in parallel, while the multi-gigabit transceivers connect to high-speed probe interfaces. The 780-ball BGA provides the I/O density needed for hundreds of parallel test channels. The C-grade commercial temperature range (0C to +85C) covers laboratory and factory-floor environments, per the EP1M350 datasheet.
Recommended
Storage Area Network (SAN) Switch ASIC Replacement
The EP1M350B780C7 was deployed in early Fibre Channel SAN switches where the integrated transceivers at 1.0625 Gbps matched 1GFC line rate. The 350K gates implemented cut-through switching fabric, port state machines, and Simple Name Server logic. Compared with a fixed-function ASIC, the FPGA approach allowed rapid feature additions and bug fixes via JTAG bitstream updates. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, the Mercury family's deterministic latency supports cut-through switching requirements where store-and-forward delay is unacceptable.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1M350B780C7 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1M350B780C6 | EP1M350B780C5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 780-ball FineLine BGA | 780-ball FineLine BGA - same | 780-ball FineLine BGA - same |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| System Gates | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 |
| Speed Grade | -7 (fastest) | -6 (mid) | -5 (slowest) |
| Transceiver Max Rate | 1.25 Gbps | 1.0 Gbps (typical for -6 grade) | 0.8 Gbps (typical for -5 grade) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (C grade) | 0C to +85C (C grade) | 0C to +85C (C grade) |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 C | 220 C | 220 C |
| Approximate Unit Price (1 pc) | $145 | $130 (estimated, typically lower than -7) | $115 (estimated, lowest cost grade) |
Key Differentiators
- Integrated multi-gigabit transceivers (1.25 Gbps) (vs EP1K100FC484-1 (ACEX 1K, no transceivers))
- Higher logic density than lower-density Mercury variants (vs EP1M120F484C7 (Mercury 120K))
- Same-package family enables speed grade binning without PCB rework (vs EP1M350B780C5 (slowest grade))
Design Notes
The 780-ball FineLine BGA has limited PCB heat dissipation capability. Estimated: at full fabric utilization (~80% toggle rate) with the multi-gigabit transceivers active, total power consumption reaches approximately 3-5 W depending on clock tree and I/O toggle activity. A multi-layer PCB with dedicated inner power planes and thermal vias beneath the BGA is required to keep junction temperature within the 0C to +85C commercial range. Avoid placing the device near board edges where thermal relief is poor.
Route the multi-gigabit transceiver differential pairs first, before any other signals. Maintain 100 ohm differential impedance with length matching to within 150 mil per the EP1M350 datasheet transceiver guidelines. Keep the serial traces on the top signal layer with a continuous reference plane directly beneath (no plane splits). Use AC-coupling capacitors of 10 nF at the serial transmit pins. Provide 4-layer PCB minimum with controlled impedance stack-up.
The Mercury EP1M350 family predates many modern FPGA features: there is no hard PCIe IP, no hard memory controller, no high-speed ADC. All such functions must be implemented in fabric or external. Also, configuration bitstream loading uses the legacy enhanced configuration or passive serial scheme, NOT modern active serial (AS) mode. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, designers must use Altera EPC16 or EPC8 configuration devices (also NRND). Plan for migration to Stratix/Cyclone if new design.
Place 0.1 uF decoupling capacitors as close as possible to every power pin of the BGA, with short, wide traces. Use a power plane cutout around the BGA to minimize inductance; supply all VCC pins via the inner planes, not traces. Provide isolated analog supply (VCCA_PLL) for each PLL region with its own ferrite bead and decoupling. The JTAG chain must include all devices on the board in series with 4.7 kohm pull-ups on TCK, TMS, and TDI per IEEE 1149.1.
Compliance Information
RoHS, REACH, lead-free, and halogen-free status for the Mercury family vary by date code. The Mercury EP1M350 family was originally released before RoHS mandates, with later production runs typically re-qualified. Confirm per lot certificate of conformance. AEC-Q100 not applicable for FPGA logic devices. For new automotive designs use Cyclone IV E/GX or later automotive-qualified Intel FPGA families.
