EP3C10E144C8N - 10K LE Cyclone III FPGA, 144-LQFP | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP3C10E144C8N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25.07 | $25.07 |
| 10 | $22.5 | $225.00 |
| 100 | $19.85 | $1,985.00 |
| 500 | $17.4 | $8,700.00 |
| 1,000 | $15.2 | $15,200.00 |
EP3C10E144C8N Overview
Cyclone III FPGAs occupy the entry-to-mid tier of the Altera/Intel programmable logic family hierarchy, sitting below the Cyclone IV and Cyclone V families in process node and absolute performance, but offering an unusually competitive dollar-per-logic-element ratio. The EP3C10E144C8N specifically is positioned for glue logic, custom peripheral interfacing, LED and video signal conditioning, motor control coprocessors, and mid-complexity DSP pipelines. Its built-in 18x18 multipliers, embedded RAM blocks, and PLL-based clock management make it well suited to small signal-processing farms where the flexibility of an FPGA outperforms a fixed-function MCU.
The 144-pin LQFP with exposed pad provides a robust thermal path for the device's sub-watt typical power envelope and supports hand-solderable prototyping on 0.5 mm-pitch PCBs. Integrated features include 66 (7 for 9-bit) embedded 18x18 multipliers, two PLLs, and up to 414 Kbits of M9K block RAM distributed across the fabric. Designers benefit from Quartus II / Quartus Prime support, a mature IP library, and reference designs covering Nios II soft-core integration.
Typical applications include industrial control and machine vision front-ends, low-cost video processing (e.g., LCD timing controllers and HDMI bridge boards), consumer electronics requiring custom I/O expansion, low-bandwidth software-defined radio front-ends, and educational / university FPGA training platforms. The exposed-pad LQFP package is especially useful for designs that need a 1.0 mm-pitch SMT footprint without the routing complexity of fine-pitch BGA alternatives.
When designing with this part, allocate adequate copper area under the exposed pad for thermal dissipation and ensure I/O bank voltages match the 1.2 V / 2.5 V / 3.3 V supported standards. Engineers migrating from Cyclone II should note the 65 nm process change and updated configuration scheme, which requires a fresh Quartus project compilation. According to the Altera Cyclone III Device Handbook, configuration is supported via JTAG, Active Serial (EPCS), or Passive Serial modes, with dedicated MSEL[3:0] strap pins selecting the mode at power-up.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3C10E144C8N — 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 EP3C10E144C8N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Package, Speed Grade, Family, Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3C10E144C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$45.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C10E144I8N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C10E144I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$39.92 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C16E144A7N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C25E144I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$66.99 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE10E22C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$11.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C10E144C8N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone III |
| Family | Cyclone III EP3C10 |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 10,320 |
| Total Memory Bits | 423,936 |
| User I/O Count | 94 |
| Process Node | 65 nm |
| Speed Grade | 8 (commercial, slowest in C-grade) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Package | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (suffix 'N') |
| Configuration Mode | JTAG / Active Serial / Passive Serial |
| MSL Level | 3 |
EP3C10E144C8N 144-lqfp exposed pad (eqfp-144) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3C10E144C8N (144-lqfp exposed pad (eqfp-144) 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 EP3C10E144C8N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3C10E144C8N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Control & Machine Vision Front-Ends, LCD Timing Controller & Video Bridge, Custom I/O Expansion & Glue Logic, Low-Bandwidth Software-Defined Radio Front-End, University FPGA Training & Prototyping, Motor Control Coprocessor.
Industrial Control & Machine Vision Front-Ends
The EP3C10E144C8N fits industrial control front-ends because its 10,320 LEs accommodate custom PLC logic, encoder decoding, and PWM generation, while 94 user I/Os handle multi-axis GPIO, encoder inputs, and stepper/driver interfaces in a single chip. The C8 commercial temperature grade covers factory-floor enclosures, and the 144-LQFP package's 0.5 mm pitch supports hand-reworkable prototyping on DIN-rail carrier boards. Designers typically pair the FPGA with external ADCs and leverage the 18x18 multipliers for sensor-filter DSP pipelines such as FIR decimation on current/voltage feedback.
Recommended
LCD Timing Controller & Video Bridge
The EP3C10E144C8N excels at LCD timing generation, LVDS-to-CMOS bridging, and HDMI front-end pre-processing where its 94 user I/Os multiplex 24-bit RGB, LVDS pairs, and control signals without external bus switches. Hardware 18x18 multipliers accelerate pixel-pipeline DSP such as color-space conversion and gamma correction. Quartus II reference IP includes PLL-based pixel-clock synthesis and DDR2/LPDDR2 memory controllers, which combine with the FPGA's 414 Kbits of embedded RAM to buffer scan lines without external SDRAM in low-resolution panels.
Recommended
Custom I/O Expansion & Glue Logic
The EP3C10E144C8N is a strong fit for custom I/O expansion when a host MCU lacks sufficient GPIOs, peripherals, or specialized interfaces such as I2S, UART bridges, or custom parallel buses. Designers map each missing interface into FPGA logic and connect the host MCU via SPI or 8-bit parallel register-mapped access. The 144-LQFP Exposed Pad package's 0.5 mm pitch enables hand-prototyping while maintaining robust SMT reliability, and the device's small 10K-LE footprint keeps per-unit cost low for high-volume consumer products.
Recommended
Low-Bandwidth Software-Defined Radio Front-End
The EP3C10E144C8N's 18x18 hardware multipliers and 414 Kbits of embedded block RAM make it suitable for narrow-band SDR front-ends operating below 25 MSPS, where IQ demodulation, channel filtering, and FM/AM demodulation fit comfortably within 10K LEs. The 94 user I/Os interface to dual-channel ADCs and DACs, while on-chip PLLs derive coherent sample clocks from a single reference oscillator. Engineers pair the FPGA with a broadband RF front-end IC and use Quartus DSP Builder for fixed-point filter synthesis, delivering a flexible radio platform at modest BOM cost.
Recommended
University FPGA Training & Prototyping
The EP3C10E144C8N is widely adopted in university digital-design curricula because its 10,320 LEs are large enough to host a Nios II soft-core processor, memory-mapped peripherals, and student projects, yet small enough to compile quickly in Quartus II Web Edition. The 144-LQFP Exposed Pad package supports breakout boards with 0.1-inch headers for breadboard-style prototyping, removing the BGA-routing barrier common in advanced FPGAs. Educational reference designs include RISC-V cores, VGA controllers, and audio DSP pipelines.
Recommended
Motor Control Coprocessor
The EP3C10E144C8N functions as a dedicated motor-control coprocessor alongside a host MCU, implementing field-oriented control (FOC) loops, sinusoidal PWM generation, and encoder decoding in hardware for sub-microsecond loop latency. Its 18x18 multipliers handle Park/Clarke transforms, while 94 user I/Os drive three-phase gate signals, current-sense ADCs, and Hall-effect sensors without external bus expanders. The Cyclone III 65 nm process keeps dynamic power low enough for the coprocessor to share a 5 V or 24 V backplane with the MCU without active cooling.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3C10E144C8N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3C10E144C7N | EP3C10E144I8N | EP3C16E144A7N | EP4CE10E22C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) - same | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) - same | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) - same | 144-LQFP Exposed Pad (EQFP-144) - same |
| Brand | Altera / Intel | Altera / Intel | Altera / Intel | Altera / Intel | Altera / Intel |
| Logic Elements | 10,320 | 10,320 | 10,320 | 15,408 | 10,320 |
| Total Memory Bits | 423,936 | 423,936 | 423,936 | 516,096 | 423,936 |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial) | C7 (commercial, faster) | I8 (industrial) | A7 (commercial, faster) | C8 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | -40C to +100C (industrial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Process Node | 65 nm | 65 nm | 65 nm | 65 nm | 60 nm (low-power) |
Key Differentiators
- Best cost-per-logic-element in Cyclone III family at EQFP-144 (vs EP3C16E144A7N)
- Lowest-cost entry into 144-LQFP exposed-pad Cyclone III platform (vs EP3C25E144I7N)
- Drop-in speed grade migration within same package (vs EP3C10E144C7N)
- Cyclone IV E migration compatibility (vs EP4CE10E22C8N)
Design Notes
The 144-LQFP Exposed Pad package requires a continuous PCB copper pour directly beneath the exposed pad for thermal relief. Per the Cyclone III Device Handbook, theta_JA with a 1-square-inch copper pour is approximately 28 C/W; without the exposed-pad connection, junction temperatures can exceed 100C at modest toggle rates, triggering thermal shutdown. Designers should allocate at least 4 thermal vias in the EP land pattern to the internal ground plane.
Use 0.5 mm-pitch routing for the 144-LQFP and place 0.1 uF decoupling capacitors within 100 mils of every VCCIO/VCCINT power pin. The Cyclone III datasheet recommends separate analog and digital ground planes joined at a single point near the FPGA. JTAG signals (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO) should be guarded with ground traces and length-matched within 500 mils to avoid boundary-scan failures on long cables.
I/O bank voltages must match the 1.2 V / 1.5 V / 1.8 V / 2.5 V / 3.3 V supported standards per bank; mixing incompatible standards within a bank can damage the device. Each bank has independent VCCIO rails - consult the Cyclone III device pinout to identify bank boundaries before PCB layout. The exposed-pad LQFP makes bank identification easier than BGA variants because all bank pins are visible on the package outline.
Do not omit the configuration mode straps (MSEL[3:0]); incorrect MSEL settings prevent the device from entering JTAG or Active Serial modes. The Cyclone III datasheet specifies MSEL values for each configuration mode - JTAG mode requires MSEL=00000. Additionally, nCONFIG must be pulled high to VCCIO through a 1 kohm resistor to allow the FPGA to initialize properly after power-up. Designers using Passive Serial mode must ensure the host processor drives DCLK within the 25 MHz maximum specification.
Compliance Information
Lead-free and RoHS compliant per the 'N' suffix in the part number. Commercial 0C to +85C temperature grade - not AEC-Q100 qualified. For automotive applications, use the EQFP-144 variants in the Cyclone IV or Cyclone V automotive families.
