EP2C8F256I6N - Cyclone II FPGA, 8256 LEs, 256-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP2C8F256I6N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $34.2 | $342.00 |
| 100 | $28.95 | $2,895.00 |
| 250 | $25.4 | $6,350.00 |
| 500 | $22.85 | $11,425.00 |
EP2C8F256I6N Overview
What is an FPGA? An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device whose digital logic fabric, routing, and I/O behavior are defined by a user-supplied configuration bitstream rather than at the factory. FPGAs sit at the top of the programmable logic hierarchy (FPGA -> programmable logic -> digital IC -> semiconductor) and are used wherever time-to-market, hardware parallelism, or in-field reconfigurability matters. The Cyclone II family was positioned as Altera's low-cost, high-volume FPGA, competing with Xilinx Spartan-3 in applications such as digital signal processing, video bridging, motor control, and glue-logic consolidation.
Key features of the EP2C8F256I6N include 36 embedded 18 × 18 hardware multipliers that support DSP blocks at up to 250 MHz, four phase-locked loops (PLLs) for clock management, and support for external memory interfaces including DDR, DDR2, SDR, and QDRII SRAM. The 256-pin FBGA package provides a 1.00 mm ball pitch and uses the industrial temperature grade for harsher environments. Compared with newer Cyclone IV/V parts, the EP2C8F256I6N trades static power for low unit cost, making it attractive for cost-sensitive, proven designs.
In practice the EP2C8F256I6N is used in industrial motor drives, video capture and display pipelines, software-defined radio front-ends, low-density ASIC prototyping, and embedded control boards that require parallel DSP. Its 165 Kbits of block RAM and 18 × 18 multipliers allow moderate-throughput FIR filters and FFTs without external memory for coefficient storage.
Designers should review the I/O bank voltage and pin assignment tables in the Cyclone II Device Handbook before layout, since each of the eight I/O banks can be powered independently between 1.5 V and 3.3 V. Configuration modes include JTAG, Active Serial, and Passive Serial, and the Quartus II (or later) toolchain is required for synthesis, fitting, and bitstream generation.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-footprint alternatives from the Cyclone II family, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2C8F256I6N — 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 EP2C8F256I6N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in RoHS Status, Package, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Embedded Memory Bits.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2C8F256I8N
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$21.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C8F256I7N
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EP2C8F256C8N
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Contact for price
View Datasheet →EP2C8F256C7N
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$8.31 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C8F256C6N
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$31.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C8AF256I8N
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$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C8AF256A7N
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$41.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C8F256I6N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone II |
| Logic Elements | 8,256 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 540 |
| Embedded Memory (M4K blocks) | 165,888 bits |
| Embedded 18 x 18 Multipliers | 36 |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 182 |
| Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) | 4 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V (1.15 V min, 1.25 V max) |
| Maximum Internal Clock Frequency | 402.58 MHz |
| Speed Grade | 6 |
| Operating Temperature (Industrial) | -40 C to +100 C (Tj) |
| Package | 256-ball FineLine BGA (FBGA-256), 1.00 mm pitch |
| Configuration Modes | JTAG, Active Serial (AS), Passive Serial (PS) |
| RoHS Status | Lead-free / RoHS compliant (N suffix) |
EP2C8F256I6N 256-ball fineline bga (fbga-256), 1.00 mm pitch Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2C8F256I6N (256-ball fineline bga (fbga-256), 1.00 mm pitch 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 EP2C8F256I6N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2C8F256I6N is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Bridging and Display Pipelines, Software-Defined Radio Front-End, ASIC Prototyping and Hardware Emulation, Embedded Control and Glue Logic, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Automotive Body and Chassis Electronics.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP2C8F256I6N is a strong fit for industrial motor control because its 36 embedded 18 x 18 hardware multipliers and 402 MHz fabric enable field-oriented control (FOC) and SVPWM modulation in a single device. Industrial-temperature operation (-40 C to +100 C junction) covers factory-floor cabinet temperatures without additional thermal screening. The 182 user I/Os and eight I/O banks easily host encoder, Hall-sensor, gate-driver and protective-shutdown interfaces. Designers typically place the FPGA between a 32-bit MCU and the three-phase inverter, offloading the high-rate control loop while the MCU handles communications.
Recommended
Video Bridging and Display Pipelines
The EP2C8F256I6N's 165 Kbits of M4K block RAM and four PLLs make it well-suited to mid-resolution video bridging, scaling and color-space conversion tasks. Embedded multipliers handle chroma interpolation and sharpening filters at standard video rates (60 Hz 1080p) without external DSP. Each I/O bank supports LVDS, TTL, SSTL and HSTL, so parallel RGB, BT.656 and LVDS panels can be driven directly. Place the device between a video decoder and a flat-panel driver with DDR/DDR2 frame buffers in external memory, using the PLL to synthesize pixel clocks from a 27 MHz reference.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Front-End
In software-defined radio (SDR) front-ends the EP2C8F256I6N is used to implement digital down-conversion, decimation filtering and burst-mode protocol logic. The 36 18 x 18 multipliers realize 36-tap FIR stages at rates up to ~250 MHz, well above typical IF bandwidths, while 165 Kbits of block RAM holds coefficients and small buffers without external memory. Industrial temperature grade allows deployment in outdoor or vehicular enclosures. Pair with an external ADC and the FPGA provides the I/Q path before handing baseband samples to a host processor.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Hardware Emulation
The EP2C8F256I6N's 8,256 logic elements and 182 I/Os make it a useful host for ASIC prototyping where the design is partitioned across multiple FPGAs. The FBGA-256 package exposes enough pins for full I/O replication of moderate ASIC designs, and the JTAG, Active Serial and Passive Serial configuration modes support in-system re-spin via standard programmers. Quartus II provides industry-standard synthesis and timing-closure flows with comprehensive simulation libraries. Use as a verification target before committing to mask costs.
Recommended
Embedded Control and Glue Logic
The EP2C8F256I6N is widely deployed as a glue-logic consolidator on embedded controller boards where 5-10 discrete MSI/LSI chips would otherwise be needed. Industrial temperature operation allows placement in cabinets and outdoor enclosures, while 36 multipliers and 165 Kbits of RAM provide headroom for state machines, protocol bridges (UART, SPI, I2C) and modest DSP. The 256-ball BGA places many high-speed signals on the package, simplifying board routing. Designers commonly use the FPGA behind a Cortex-M class MCU to handle deterministic real-time I/O.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
In test and measurement instruments the EP2C8F256I6N serves as a timing generator, pattern generator or DSP pre-processor. The four PLLs synthesize precise clocks for ADC/DAC sampling, while 36 hardware multipliers enable FIR pre-emphasis and equalization stages at hundreds of MHz. Industrial temperature grade supports use in production-floor ATE racks. JTAG configuration allows rapid instrument re-characterization between test programs. The FBGA-256 footprint also leaves headroom for adding LVDS comparators or digital isolators around the part.
Recommended
Automotive Body and Chassis Electronics
Although automotive applications typically migrate to AEC-Q100-qualified parts like the Cyclone IV GX auto grade, the EP2C8F256I6N is found in mature body and chassis designs where firmware is locked. The industrial temperature range covers cabin and under-hood zones that stay under +100 C junction, and the 256-ball BGA fits behind multiple LIN/CAN gateways. 36 hardware multipliers handle sensor-fusion DSP at rates adequate for non-safety-critical loops. For new auto programs, use AEC-Q100 Cyclone IV/V equivalents instead.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2C8F256I6N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2C8F256I8N | EP2C8F256I7N | EP2C8F256C8N | EP2C8F256C7N | EP2C8F256C6N | EP2C8AF256I8N | EP2C8AF256A7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same | FBGA-256 (1.00 mm pitch) - same |
| Logic Elements | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 | 8,256 |
| Embedded Memory | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits | 165,888 bits |
| 18 x 18 Multipliers | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| Maximum User I/O | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +100C Tj) | Industrial (-40C to +100C Tj) | Industrial (-40C to +100C Tj) | Commercial (0C to +85C Tj) | Commercial (0C to +85C Tj) | Commercial (0C to +85C Tj) | Industrial (-40C to +100C Tj) | Automotive (-40C to +125C Tj) |
| Speed Grade | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 |
Key Differentiators
- Slowest speed grade in the FBGA-256 family, ideal for power-sensitive industrial boards (vs EP2C8F256I8N)
- Industrial temperature range as standard (vs EP2C8F256C8N)
- Pin-compatible upgrade path to automotive-grade silicon (vs EP2C8AF256A7N)
Design Notes
EP2C8F256I6N requires a 1.2 V core supply (1.15-1.25 V) plus independent VCCIO rails for each of the eight I/O banks, typically 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V or 3.3 V depending on the connected peripherals. Use a low-dropout regulator with at least 1 A headroom for the core and bulk-decouple every VCC/VCCIO pin with 0.1 uF + 10 uF ceramic capacitors placed within 5 mm of the BGA balls. Add a ferrite bead between the analog and digital 1.2 V rails if you have an analog PLL reference supply. Inrush current at configuration can spike above the steady-state IDD, so size the bulk input capacitor accordingly.
Estimated: at typical utilization (~70% LEs, 50% RAM, 100% PLL use) the EP2C8F256I6N dissipates roughly 0.6-0.9 W from a 1.2 V rail. The FBGA-256 has a published theta_JA near 25 C/W on a JEDEC 4-layer test board, so the junction temperature rises 15-23 C above ambient. Industrial parts are rated to 100 C junction, leaving comfortable margin in a 70 C cabinet. Always measure with a thermocouple on the package top during worst-case soak, and derate if you exceed 80% of the rated LUT toggle rate.
The FBGA-256 package uses a 1.00 mm ball pitch and requires microvia or 4-mil laser-drilled via-in-pad stack-ups for reliable fan-out. Use a 4-6 layer board with a continuous ground plane on layer 2 directly below the BGA to provide a low-impedance return path for high-speed LVDS and PLL signals. All unused I/O pins should be configured as outputs driving '0' or as inputs with internal weak pull-ups, and nCONFIG, nSTATUS and CONF_DONE lines must be pulled up correctly per the configuration mode you select. Power-rail sequencing must satisfy VCCIO before VCCINT during power-up to avoid latch-up.
Series-terminate every high-speed LVDS or SSTL output with 33-68 ohm resistors placed within 5 mm of the FPGA ball, and match trace lengths within 50 mil for DDR/DDR2 interfaces to the external memory. The four PLLs each have dedicated clock input pins; do not route general-purpose I/O through the PLL input balls. Use the Intel Quartus TimeQuest timing analyzer with the EP2C8 device-specific timing model to verify setup/hold at the actual speed-grade corner before tape-out.
Do not confuse Cyclone II (EP2C) with the older Cyclone (EP1C) - they use different configuration bitstream IDs, JTAG IDs and Quartus device libraries. A bitstream generated for EP1C will not configure EP2C and vice versa. Also avoid mixing EP2C8 (8K LEs) with EP2C5 (5K LEs) bitstreams even though they share the FBGA-256 footprint, because the IO and LAB counts differ. Always set the Quartus device assignment to EP2C8F256I6 explicitly before generating the .sof or .pof file.
Compliance Information
Lead-free and RoHS compliant per the N suffix in the part number. The standard I6 industrial grade is not AEC-Q100 qualified; for automotive applications use EP2C8AF256A7N which carries automotive-grade silicon. REACH compliance is reported by franchised distributors.
