EP3C25F256C8N - Cyclone III FPGA, 24.6K LEs, 256-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP3C25F256C8N β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $59.51 | $59.51 |
| 10 | $53.5 | $535.00 |
| 100 | $47.6 | $4,760.00 |
| 500 | $42.8 | $21,400.00 |
| 1,000 | $38.95 | $38,950.00 |
EP3C25F256C8N Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable digital integrated circuit whose logic fabric, routing, and I/O cells are defined at hardware description language (HDL) compile time and re-programmed in-circuit. FPGAs occupy the middle ground between fixed-function ASICs and software-driven microcontrollers, sitting in the broader taxonomy as programmable logic > FPGA > SRAM-based LUT FPGA > low-power FPGA family.
Key features include 156 user I/O pins, four general-purpose phase-locked loops (PLLs) for clock synthesis and skew management, support for external memory interfaces such as DDR/DDR2/QDRII, and 0.25 mW per logic element typical dynamic power consumption. The device operates from a 1.15 V to 1.25 V core supply, supports 3.3 V, 2.5 V, 1.8 V, and 1.5 V I/O standards, and is offered in a Pb-free 17 mm x 17 mm FBGA package with 1.0 mm pitch.
Architecturally, the Cyclone III silicon uses a 60 nm process with a 4-input look-up table (LUT) based logic element, embedded M9K memory blocks, and 18x18 hardware multipliers optimized for digital signal processing (DSP) throughput. The device targets low-cost, high-volume designs where the balance between logic capacity, embedded memory, DSP bandwidth, and unit cost matters more than the highest serial transceiver data rate.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video surveillance and image processing, low-end protocol bridging, consumer display controllers, and entry-level software-defined radio (SDR) baseband processing. The wide I/O bank support also suits mixed-voltage board designs integrating 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, and 3.3 V peripherals on the same PCB.
When designing with this device, allocate sufficient PCB area for the 1.0 mm pitch BGA fan-out, route PLL analog supplies through a ferrite-bead-isolated rail, and configure unused I/O pins per the Cyclone III Hardware Reference to minimize leakage. Quartus II version 7.2 or later is required for synthesis, fitting, and configuration bitstream generation.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, exact-temperature speed-grade alternatives, and practical Cyclone III design notes not consolidated in the manufacturer datasheet, providing an engineer-facing summary for selection and procurement.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3C25F256C8N 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 EP3C25F256C8N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Process Technology, RoHS Status, Logic Array Blocks (LABs), Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3C25F256C7N
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C25F256I7N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$48.9 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP3C25F256C8
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C40F256C8N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C25F256C8N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone III |
| Series | Cyclone III |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 24,624 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 608,256 (594 Kbit) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 66 |
| User I/O Pins | 156 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Core Voltage | 1.15 V to 1.25 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C (commercial) |
| Speed Grade | 8 |
| Package | 256-pin FBGA (FineLine BGA), 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| MSL Level | 3 (per JEDEC J-STD-020) |
| Lead-Free | Yes (Pb-free) |
| Halogen-Free | Yes |
EP3C25F256C8N 256-pin fbga (fineline bga), 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3C25F256C8N (256-pin fbga (fineline bga), 17x17 mm, 1.0 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 EP3C25F256C8N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3C25F256C8N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Surveillance / Image Processing, Consumer Display Controllers, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband, Protocol Bridging / Industrial Networking, Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP3C25F256C8N's 24,624 logic elements and 66 embedded 18x18 multipliers provide sufficient parallel arithmetic for Field-Oriented Control (FOC) loops driving three-phase AC induction or BLDC motors. Its four PLLs generate phase-staggered PWM carrier frequencies with sub-100 ns resolution, while 156 user I/O easily accommodate multi-axis feedback from quadrature encoders, Hall sensors, and resolver-to-digital converters. The 1.15-1.25 V core supply and 0.25 mW per logic element typical power figure keep total dissipation well under 1.5 W even at 95 percent utilization, allowing fan-less industrial cabinet designs. Designers place the FPGA between a host MCU (command parsing) and the gate driver stage to offload the high-rate Park/Clarke and SVPWM math.
Recommended
Video Surveillance / Image Processing
With 594 Kbit of embedded M9K memory and 66 hardware multipliers, the EP3C25F256C8N comfortably implements real-time image processing pipelines such as 3x3 convolution filters, Sobel edge detection, or simple background subtraction at CIF/D1 resolutions. The Cyclone III fabric's dedicated video and phase-shifted clock circuitry supports BT.656 or parallel RGB input from CMOS sensors, while the 156 user I/O permit direct attachment to an external DDR2 frame buffer. Per the Cyclone III External Memory Interfaces chapter, the embedded DQS phase-shift circuitry simplifies the read/write timing for the external memory without an external PHY.
Recommended
Consumer Display Controllers
The EP3C25F256C8N is well-suited to low-cost LED/LCD timing-controller applications where its 156 user I/O and four PLLs generate the multi-domain clocks required to drive TFT panels, LVDS bridges, or HDMI adapters. Cyclone III fabric latency is predictable enough to meet panel setup/hold windows, and the 256-FBGA package is small enough for the slim backlight-driver PCBs typical of consumer TVs. The commercial 0-85 C temperature grade covers standard living-room operating conditions; designers targeting outdoor signage would step up to the EP3C25F256I7N industrial variant instead.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband
Entry-level SDR baseband processing for narrowband protocols such as LoRa, FSK, or simple OFDM modulation fits well within EP3C25F256C8N's logic and DSP envelope. The 66 18x18 multipliers support up to 33 36-bit MAC operations per clock cycle, sufficient for FFT sizes up to 1024 points at modest sample rates. The four PLLs derive independent baseband, IF, and ADC sampling clocks with sub-nanosecond jitter, which is critical for bit-error-rate performance. Designers use the FPGA in conjunction with an external RF transceiver and a low-cost DAC to build a complete digital baseband path.
Recommended
Protocol Bridging / Industrial Networking
The EP3C25F256C8N implements industrial protocol converters (Modbus TCP, EtherCAT, PROFINET, CANopen) at a fraction of the cost of dedicated ASSPs, with the flexibility to support multiple protocols from the same hardware. Its four PLLs derive the various PHY reference clocks (25 MHz, 50 MHz, 125 MHz), and 156 user I/O expose ample RGMII, SPI, UART, and GPIO buses to glue with the host MCU and external PHY. The commercial 0-85 C range suits factory-floor enclosures; the Cyclone III architecture's deterministic timing keeps protocol jitter well within industrial conformance specifications.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End
The EP3C25F256C8N provides an economical FPGA-based acquisition and processing engine for benchtop instruments such as logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, or low-bandwidth arbitrary waveform generators. Its 66 embedded multipliers enable real-time FIR filtering of ADC sample streams, while the 608 Kbit embedded memory buffers incoming samples before bus-master DMA transfers to a host PC. Per the Cyclone III family documentation, the LVDS I/O capability on selected banks allows direct connection to high-speed ADCs without external serializer/deserializer parts, reducing the BOM cost of the front-end.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3C25F256C8N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3C25F256C7N | EP3C25F256I7N | EP3C25F256C8 | EP3C40F256C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 256-FBGA (F256, 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) | 256-FBGA (F256, 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) - same | 256-FBGA (F256, 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) - same | 256-FBGA (F256, 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) - same | 256-FBGA (F256, 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) - same |
| Family | Cyclone III | Cyclone III | Cyclone III | Cyclone III | Cyclone III |
| Logic Elements | 24,624 | 24,624 | 24,624 | 24,624 | 39,600 |
| Embedded Memory | 608,256 bits (594 Kbit) | 608,256 bits | 608,256 bits | 608,256 bits | 1,134,000 bits |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 126 |
| User I/O | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 |
| Speed Grade | 8 (commercial) | 7 (commercial, faster) | 7 (industrial) | 8 (commercial, non-Pb-free) | 8 (commercial) |
| Temperature Range | 0 C to +85 C (commercial) | 0 C to +85 C | -40 C to +100 C (industrial) | 0 C to +85 C | 0 C to +85 C |
Key Differentiators
- Same die, lower speed grade offers cost advantage (vs EP3C25F256C7N)
- Pb-free / RoHS compliant lead finish (vs EP3C25F256C8)
- Right-sized logic capacity for mid-volume designs (vs EP3C40F256C8N)
Design Notes
The 256-FBGA package uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch, which is the largest BGA pitch a standard 4-layer FR-4 PCB can fan-out using dog-bone vias. Use 0.2 mm micro-vias on inner layers and 0.4 mm pad-to-pad clearance to maintain IPC-7351 nominal land pattern tolerances. Decoupling: place 0.1 uF X7R ceramic capacitors on every VCCINT and VCCIO pin pair, plus bulk 10 uF tantalum or polymer caps per supply rail within 100 mils of the BGA edge.
The Cyclone III VCCINT (1.15 V to 1.25 V core) must ramp monotonically within 100 ms and reach the upper bound before the device releases configuration; otherwise, the POR (Power-On-Reset) circuit may corrupt the configuration RAM. Generate VCCINT from a dedicated LDO or DC-DC regulator with PGOOD output fed to nCONFIG. VCCA_PLL pins should be sourced through a ferrite-bead-isolated 2.5 V rail to minimize clock jitter.
Do not leave any Cyclone III I/O bank voltage (VCCIO) floating - unused banks must be powered per the configuration scheme or tied to 0 V through a 10 kohm resistor. The JTAG TCK signal requires a 1 kohm pull-down to avoid floating-TAP behavior during board bring-up. Use a USB-Blaster (or compatible clone) with the Quartus II programmer; do not attempt to use JTAG over boundary-scan tools as Quartus uses vendor-specific BSDL extensions.
Compliance Information
RoHS and Pb-free per the 'N' suffix in the Altera part number convention. MSL-3 handling required per JEDEC J-STD-020 for the 256-FBGA package. Cyclone III devices are not AEC-Q100 qualified; for automotive applications consider Cyclone IV or Cyclone V with Q-grade suffixes.
