EP3C40F484C8 - Cyclone III FPGA, 39.6K LE, 484-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP3C40F484C8 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $116.74 | $116.74 |
| 10 | $110.5 | $1,105.00 |
| 100 | $98.2 | $9,820.00 |
| 250 | $92.4 | $23,100.00 |
| 500 | $88.1 | $44,050.00 |
EP3C40F484C8 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a type of programmable logic device (PLD) that allows engineers to implement arbitrary digital logic functions after PCB fabrication. The Cyclone III FPGA belongs to the broader taxonomy of semiconductor devices: FPGA -> programmable logic -> logic IC -> integrated circuit. FPGAs sit alongside microcontrollers and DSPs in the digital signal processing hierarchy, offering parallel hardware execution that microcontrollers cannot match.
Key specifications of the EP3C40F484C8 include 4 PLL outputs for clock management, 56 embedded 18x18 multipliers (Cyclone III value line), 20 global clock networks, and 20 M9K memory blocks. The C8 speed grade denotes a commercial temperature range with mid-tier timing closure, while the F484 package uses Intel's FBGA-484 footprint with 1.0 mm ball pitch. The device supports LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and HSTL I/O standards for interfacing with DDR/DDR2 memory and high-speed parallel peripherals.
The Cyclone III architecture combines an LAB (Logic Array Block) structure of 16 logic elements per LAB with MultiTrack interconnect, providing efficient routing for medium-density designs. The 60-nm process node gives a favorable power-performance ratio versus earlier Cyclone II devices, making Cyclone III suitable for power-sensitive applications such as handheld test equipment and battery-powered industrial controllers.
Typical applications include motor control and industrial automation, video processing and image aggregation, software-defined radio (SDR) baseband, low-cost digital signal processing, and PCI/PCI Express endpoint bridging. The 484-BGA package offers ample I/O and signal integrity for multi-lane parallel buses, while the embedded M9K memory blocks simplify FIFO and dual-port buffer implementation.
Designers should consult the Cyclone III Device Handbook (Volume 1: Logic Elements, Volume 2: I/O and Memory) for Quartus II pin assignment and SignalTap II debugging guidance. When migrating from Cyclone II, verify I/O standard compatibility and re-validate timing in Quartus II version 9.0 or later.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-package alternatives (EP3C16F484C8N, EP3C25F484C8N), and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3C40F484C8 — 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 EP3C40F484C8 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Process Technology, Speed Grade, RoHS Status.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3C40F484C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C40F484C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$264 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C40F484C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$312.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C40F484I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$118.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C25F484C8N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3C16F484C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$29.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C40F484C8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Device Family | Cyclone III |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 39,600 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LAB) | 2,475 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 1,161,216 |
| M9K Memory Blocks | 126 |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 56 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Maximum User I/O | 331 |
| User I/O Banks | 8 |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (F484), 1.0 mm pitch, 23 x 23 mm |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial, mid-speed) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Process Node | 60 nm TSMC low-power CMOS |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 1.2 V |
| Configuration Scheme | Active serial (AS), Passive serial (PS), JTAG |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (lead-free FBGA) |
| MSL Level | 3 (per JEDEC J-STD-020) |
EP3C40F484C8 484-ball fbga (f484), 1.0 mm pitch, 23 x 23 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3C40F484C8 (484-ball fbga (f484), 1.0 mm pitch, 23 x 23 mm 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 EP3C40F484C8.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3C40F484C8 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing and Image Aggregation, Software Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband, PCI / PCI Express Endpoint Bridge, Low-Cost ASIC Prototyping, Test and Measurement Instrumentation.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP3C40F484C8's 39,600 logic elements, 56 embedded 18x18 multipliers, and 4 PLLs are well matched to multi-axis industrial motor control where the FPGA must execute Field-Oriented Control (FOC), PWM generation, and encoder decoding in parallel hardware. The Cyclone III 60-nm low-power process keeps typical dynamic power near 0.25 W, important for enclosed drives. With 331 user I/Os on the F484 package, designers can connect several resolver/encoder interfaces, gate-driver PWMs, and external ADC/DAC channels without bus multiplexing. Compared to a microcontroller-only solution, the FPGA offloads deterministic sampling and dead-time insertion, freeing the MCU for comms and supervisory tasks.
Recommended
Video Processing and Image Aggregation
The EP3C40F484C8's 1.16 Mbit of M9K embedded memory and 331 I/Os make it a strong fit for multi-channel video aggregation and bridging designs. Designers commonly use the M9K blocks as line buffers, deinterlacer scratch memory, or LVDS deserializer FIFOs. The Cyclone III LVDS I/O supports up to 875 Mbps per channel, allowing direct interfacing with CMOS image sensors, HDMI transmitters, or flat-panel display timing controllers. Hardware-accelerated color-space conversion and chroma resampling fit comfortably within the 39.6K LE budget, and the 60-nm low-power process benefits fanless embedded video appliances.
Recommended
Software Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband
For SDR baseband and digital signal processing, the EP3C40F484C8's 56 18x18 multipliers deliver up to 175 GMACs of DSP throughput when pipelined, sufficient for narrow-band digital downconversion, FIR filtering, and small FFT cores. The 4 PLLs generate multiple sample clocks for ADC and DAC synchronization, while the 331 user I/Os accept parallel LVDS ADC data and drive DAC outputs. The Cyclone III architecture balances cost with parallel processing; power consumption near 0.25 W is appropriate for portable SDR test gear. Designs that outgrow the EP3C40 density can migrate to Cyclone V GT in a compatible package family.
Recommended
PCI / PCI Express Endpoint Bridge
The EP3C40F484C8 supports PCI 32/64-bit and PCI Express endpoint implementations via soft IP cores in Quartus II, leveraging 331 I/Os and 4 PLLs for clock-domain management. Designers use the M9K memory as transmit/receive FIFOs and the embedded multipliers for CRC and encryption engines. The F484 FBGA package provides sufficient signal integrity for 66 MHz PCI operation, and the C8 speed grade closes timing for 32-bit/33 MHz designs without penalty. For PCIe Gen1, an external PHY plus Altera soft IP completes the bridge.
Recommended
Low-Cost ASIC Prototyping
The EP3C40F484C8 is widely used as an ASIC prototyping vehicle because 39.6K logic elements and 56 multipliers can host RTL subsystems for functional verification before tape-out. The F484 FBGA exposes all I/Os on 1.0 mm pitch, simplifying breakout to ASIC pin headers on prototype boards. Active-serial configuration allows fast PROM-based boot, and SignalTap II embedded logic analyzer aids debugging. Compared to ASIC iteration cost, the EP3C40-based prototype reduces risk dramatically at moderate volume.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
For bench instruments and data-acquisition modules, the EP3C40F484C8 offers 39.6K logic elements for custom trigger logic, timing engines, and DSP pre-processing, plus 4 PLLs for ADC/DAC clock synthesis. The 1.16 Mbit embedded memory captures waveform segments on-chip, reducing host-side data movement. The 331 I/Os accept parallel ADC data and drive display/communication interfaces; LVDS support simplifies connection to high-speed ADCs. The Cyclone III low-power profile suits fanless portable instruments, and Quartus II integration with MATLAB/Simulink accelerates algorithm development.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3C40F484C8 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3C40F484C8N | EP3C40F484C7N | EP3C40F484I7N | EP3C25F484C8N | EP3C16F484C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch | FBGA-484 (F484), 1.0 mm pitch |
| Logic Elements | 39,600 | 39,600 | 39,600 | 39,600 | 24,624 | 15,408 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 1,161,216 | 1,161,216 | 1,161,216 | 1,161,216 | 594,432 | 516,096 |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 66 | 56 |
| Maximum User I/O | 331 | 331 | 331 | 331 | 305 | 346 |
| PLLs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial) | C8 (commercial) | C7 (commercial, faster) | I7 (industrial) | C8 (commercial) | C8 (commercial) |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | No (SnPb finish) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) |
Key Differentiators
- Same-density drop-in upgrade path with faster timing margin (vs EP3C40F484C8N)
- Higher DSP throughput per logic element versus lower-density variants (vs EP3C25F484C8N)
- Faster speed grade with identical pinout for timing-critical designs (vs EP3C40F484C7N)
- Larger 484-ball pin count versus smaller-package Cyclone III (vs EP3C40F324C8N)
Design Notes
The Cyclone III core runs at 1.2 V; the EP3C40F484C8 supports 1.0 V, 1.2 V, 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, 3.0 V, and 3.3 V I/O standards through separate VCCIO rails per bank. Estimated: a typical design using 60% of logic and I/O at 100 MHz toggling draws 0.25-0.5 W core. Provide at least 4 decoupling capacitors (0.1 uF, 0.01 uF, 0.001 uF, plus bulk) per VCC rail near the device, and route VCCINT/VCCIO/VCC_PLL/VCC_CHAIN planes with low-impedance copper pours.
The F484 FBGA package has 1.0 mm ball pitch. Use 4-6 layer PCB stack-up with continuous GND plane beneath the BGA for return-path integrity. Fanout should use via-in-pad or dog-bone pattern with 0.2 mm/0.4 mm trace/space. The exposed pad under the BGA must be soldered to a thermal copper pad with thermal via array (0.3 mm vias, 1.2 mm pitch) tied to GND for both electrical ground and heat dissipation. Estimated: a 4x4 via array gives theta_JB around 1.5 C/W.
Do not leave the MSEL[2:0] configuration-mode pins floating; tie them through 1 kohm to VCCIO or GND per the desired mode (AS/PS/JTAG). Unused I/O pins default to tri-stated input with weak pull-up; either explicitly set them in Quartus II to output-drive-low or leave them unconnected, never to a defined high without proper slew. Also confirm JTAG TCK pull-down and TMS/TDI pull-ups are populated for reliable boundary-scan.
Cyclone III LVDS inputs require 100 ohm differential termination across the receiver pair; place the resistor within 1 cm of the FPGA pin. LVDS channels with >200 Mbps toggling rates benefit from matched-length routing (within 0.5 mm intra-pair and 5 mm inter-pair). For DDR/DDR2 interfaces, use the dedicated DQS phase-shift circuitry in the I/O element, and route DQS with the same length as the longest DQ bit to maintain tDQS timing margins.
Place configuration PROM (EPCS) within 5 cm of the FPGA AS pins (nCSO, DCLK, ASDO) to avoid setup/hold violations. Series 33 ohm damping resistors on DATA/ASDO are recommended for designs with longer traces. JTAG chain TCK must be buffered if more than 3 devices are on the chain; the EP3C40 itself does not require buffering as a single device.
Compliance Information
EP3C40F484C8 (no 'N' suffix) uses standard SnPb ball finish and is NOT RoHS compliant. For RoHS-compliant assembly use the EP3C40F484C8N variant. REACH status: per Intel product declaration, compliant. Not qualified to AEC-Q100 (Cyclone III family is not automotive grade).
