EP2C50F484C6N - 50K Logic Elements Cyclone II FPGA 484-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP2C50F484C6N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300.78 | $300.78 |
| 10 | $270.7 | $2,707.00 |
| 100 | $240.62 | $24,062.00 |
| 500 | $210.55 | $105,275.00 |
| 1,000 | $180.47 | $180,470.00 |
EP2C50F484C6N Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device containing a matrix of programmable logic cells, embedded memory blocks, and programmable routing that engineers can configure after manufacture to implement arbitrary digital logic. FPGAs sit hierarchically between discrete logic ICs (lower density, fixed function) and ASICs (higher volume, fixed mask-set), and they belong to the broader programmable logic device (PLD) family that also includes CPLDs and SPLDs. Cyclone II specifically targets cost-sensitive high-volume applications by combining low-power 90 nm geometry with embedded 18x18 multipliers and M4K RAM blocks, eliminating the need for external multipliers in DSP pipelines.
Key features include 50,528 logic elements, 594,432 RAM bits, 129 embedded 18x18 multipliers for DSP workloads, and 4 PLLs for clock management. The device supports LVDS, SSTL, LVTTL, PCI, and LVCMOS I/O standards and offers up to 16 global clock networks. Embedded memory is organized into M4K blocks of 4 Kbits each, configurable as RAM, ROM, or FIFO.
The Cyclone II architecture uses a Look-Up Table (LUT)-based logic element combined with a fine-grained routing interconnect, delivering a balance of logic density and predictable timing closure. The 90 nm process node positions this part between the older Cyclone (130 nm) family and the newer Cyclone III (65 nm) family, making the EP2C50 a cost-effective choice when low unit price matters more than absolute lowest power.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video processing, software-defined radio, embedded vision, and prototyping bridges to ASICs. Cyclone II is widely deployed in factory automation, broadcast equipment, and cost-sensitive consumer devices where 50K logic elements and embedded multipliers are sufficient.
When designing with the 484-BGA package, allocate an even number of PCB layers for the BGA breakout (typically 6 to 8 layers), keep all decoupling capacitors within 100 mils of their balls, and follow Altera's recommended power sequencing to avoid latch-up. Engineers migrating to a newer device should evaluate Cyclone IV E or Cyclone V for active product longevity, while still using the EP2C50 for new cost-driven designs targeting the legacy Cyclone II silicon revision.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from the same Cyclone II and Cyclone III families, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2C50F484C6N — 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 EP2C50F484C6N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Operating Temperature, Total RAM Bits, Configuration Modes.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2C50F484C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$68.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$155 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484I6N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP2C50F484C6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$110 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C35F484C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$118.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C35F484C8N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$65 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F484C6N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone II |
| Part Number | EP2C50F484C6N |
| Manufacturer | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Logic Elements | 50,528 |
| Total RAM Bits | 594,432 bits |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 129 |
| User I/O Count | 294 |
| Package | 484-ball BGA |
| Speed Grade | C6 (commercial) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C (commercial) |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| I/O Standards Supported | LVDS, SSTL, LVTTL, LVCMOS, PCI |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Process Node | 90 nm |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (lead-free suffix 'N') |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| MSL Level | 3 |
EP2C50F484C6N 484-ball bga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2C50F484C6N (484-ball 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 EP2C50F484C6N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2C50F484C6N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing and Bridging, Software Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband, ASIC Prototyping, Embedded Vision Systems, Industrial Communication Gateways.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP2C50F484C6N is well suited for industrial motor control loops where its 129 dedicated 18x18 multipliers can implement field-oriented control (FOC) algorithms and its 4 PLLs can synthesize the multiple PWM carrier frequencies demanded by three-phase inverter bridges. With 294 user I/O pins in the 484-BGA package, designers can directly interface to encoder feedback, Hall sensors, and gate-driver signals without external muxing. The 0-85 C commercial temperature grade is sufficient for cabinet-mounted industrial drives, and LVDS-capable I/O pairs support noise-immune feedback lines. Compared with a microcontroller-based solution, the FPGA's parallel DSP fabric dramatically shortens current-loop sample times.
Recommended
Video Processing and Bridging
The Cyclone II EP2C50F484C6N delivers enough logic and memory bandwidth to implement real-time video scaling, color-space conversion, and format bridging between parallel RGB, LVDS, and HDMI-style interfaces. Its 594 Kbits of embedded RAM organize line buffers and frame-store FIFOs without external SRAM, and the 4 PLLs generate the precise pixel-clock multiples required by 720p and 1080p timing. LVDS I/O support enables direct connection to serializer/deserializer pairs commonly found in industrial cameras and broadcast equipment. Designers targeting a higher-density pipeline can migrate to Cyclone IV E or Cyclone V while reusing the same 484-BGA footprint.
Recommended
Software Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband
The EP2C50F484C6N's combination of 129 18x18 multipliers and 594 Kbits of embedded RAM is well matched to software-defined-radio baseband DSP chains for narrowband protocols such as LTE, WiMAX, and proprietary industrial RF links. FFT and FIR filtering primitives fit comfortably within the 50K logic elements, and the 4 PLLs synthesize sample-clock frequencies for 30-50 MHz ADC front-ends. The 484-BGA package supports the high pin count demanded by parallel ADC/DAC interfaces and LVDS sampling-clock distribution. Engineers prototyping SDR IP on Cyclone II typically migrate to Cyclone V GT for production designs requiring integrated transceivers.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
Engineers use the EP2C50F484C6N to functionally prototype ASIC designs before tape-out because the 50K logic elements, 129 multipliers, and 594 Kbits of RAM can host a single ASIC block at full speed. The 484-BGA footprint gives 294 user I/O pins, enough to break out most ASIC pads into prototype board test points. Quartus II software supports the Cyclone II family end-to-end, including synthesis from Verilog or VHDL via Quartus and ModelSim. Compared with ASIC emulation on larger FPGAs, the EP2C50 is a cost-effective prototyping vehicle for designs that fit in 50K logic elements.
Recommended
Embedded Vision Systems
The EP2C50F484C6N is well matched to mid-resolution embedded vision pipelines because its 129 18x18 multipliers accelerate Sobel, Gaussian, and convolution kernels at 30-60 fps for VGA to 720p sensors. M4K memory blocks store line buffers and feature maps without external SRAM, reducing BOM cost and PCB area. The LVDS-capable I/O banks connect directly to CMOS-sensor parallel interfaces and serializer/deserializer pairs. Engineers building smart-camera or machine-vision prototypes often combine the EP2C50 with an external DDR SDRAM for frame buffering, using the FPGA's PLLs to generate DDR clocks with precise phase control.
Recommended
Industrial Communication Gateways
The EP2C50F484C6N's 50K logic elements and 294 I/O pins enable multi-protocol industrial gateways that bridge EtherCAT, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, and proprietary fieldbus networks on a single chip. M4K memory blocks hold protocol frame buffers and FIFOs for each industrial Ethernet port. The Cyclone II architecture supports up to 16 global clock networks, allowing multiple industrial-Ethernet ports to run on independent 100 Mbps sample clocks. Compared with an MCU plus external PHY solution, the FPGA approach consolidates three or four protocol stacks onto one device while remaining cost-competitive at $180-300 per unit.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2C50F484C6N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2C50F484C8N | EP2C50F484C7N | EP2C50F484I6N | EP2C50F484C6 | EP2C35F484C6N | EP2C35F484C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 484-ball BGA | 484-ball BGA (same) | 484-ball BGA (same) | 484-ball BGA (same) | 484-ball BGA (same) | 484-ball BGA (same) | 484-ball BGA (same) |
| Logic Elements | 50,528 | 50,528 (same) | 50,528 (same) | 50,528 (same) | 50,528 (same) | 33,216 (-34%) | 33,216 (-34%) |
| Total RAM Bits | 594,432 | 594,432 (same) | 594,432 (same) | 594,432 (same) | 594,432 (same) | 483,840 (-19%) | 483,840 (-19%) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 129 | 129 (same) | 129 (same) | 129 (same) | 129 (same) | 70 (-46%) | 70 (-46%) |
| User I/O | 294 | 294 (same) | 294 (same) | 294 (same) | 294 (same) | 322 (+10%) | 322 (+10%) |
| Speed Grade | C6 | C8 (slower) | C7 (slightly slower) | C6 industrial temp | C6 (same, non-RoHS) | C6 (same speed grade) | C8 (slower) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C | 0 C to +85 C (same) | 0 C to +85 C (same) | -40 C to +100 C (industrial) | 0 C to +85 C (same) | 0 C to +85 C (same) | 0 C to +85 C (same) |
| RoHS / Lead-Free | Yes (lead-free) | Yes (lead-free) | Yes (lead-free) | Yes (lead-free) | No (non-RoHS) | Yes (lead-free) | Yes (lead-free) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic density in Cyclone II family at 484-BGA (vs EP2C35F484C6N)
- C6 speed grade offers faster timing margin than C7 or C8 (vs EP2C50F484C8N)
- Lead-free material set for RoHS markets (vs EP2C50F484C6 (non-N suffix))
Design Notes
BGA breakout for the 484-ball package requires careful PCB layer stackup planning. Use 6 to 8 PCB layers with the top layer for signal escape and dedicated ground/power planes on inner layers. Via-in-pad or dog-bone fanout both work; via-in-pad saves board area but requires advanced assembly (filled and planarized vias). Route differential pairs (LVDS, SSTL) with 100 ohm differential impedance and keep length matching within 50 mils across a pair and 100 mils across a bus per Altera's Cyclone II hardware design guidelines.
Decouple VCCINT (1.2 V core) with at least one 10 uF tantalum or ceramic bulk cap plus 0.1 uF and 0.01 uF ceramic caps within 100 mils of each BGA ball. Each VCCIO bank requires its own 0.1 uF decoupling cluster sized by I/O-bank drive current (typically 8 to 16 caps per bank). A ferrite bead in series with each VCCIO rail can suppress switching noise from crossing into the core supply, and the PLL analog supply pins (VCCA_PLL) should be filtered with an LC network to minimize PLL jitter degradation.
Do not omit the configuration device. Although the EP2C50F484C6N supports JTAG configuration for prototyping, a real production design requires an external EPCS serial configuration memory (e.g. EPCS16SI8N for bitstreams up to ~16 Mbit, or EPCS64SI16N for larger bitstreams) to retain the design at power-up. Also verify the JTAG chain pin order when chaining multiple devices - the Cyclone II JTAG ID differs from Cyclone III/IV/V/10, so BSDL files must match the exact silicon revision. Finally, respect Altera's recommended power-on reset (POR) sequence: VCCINT must rise before or simultaneously with VCCIO, otherwise the I/O pins may latch-up and damage the device.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free status inferred from the trailing 'N' in the part number (per Altera Cyclone II ordering code convention). AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial-grade FPGA. Halogen-free and conflict-mineral status not stated in the verified web data; set to unknown.
