EP3C5E144I7N - Cyclone III FPGA, 5K LE, 144-EQFP | Intel
MPN: EP3C5E144I7N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $34.2 | $342.00 |
| 100 | $28.95 | $2,895.00 |
| 500 | $24.1 | $12,050.00 |
| 1,000 | $21.4 | $21,400.00 |
EP3C5E144I7N Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device whose digital logic is defined after manufacture by the user, belonging to the broader family of programmable logic devices (PLDs) and sitting alongside CPLDs, ASICs, and microcontrollers as the highest-density option for custom digital hardware. Cyclone III FPGAs specifically occupy the low-power, low-cost tier of Intel's FPGA portfolio, sitting below Cyclone IV/IV GX and above legacy Cyclone II in feature density.
Key features of the EP3C5E144I7N include up to 23 embedded 18×18 multipliers (suitable for DSP blocks), 4 PLLs for clock management, support for external memory interfaces including DDR/DDR2/QDRII SRAM, and a maximum internal clock frequency rating of approximately 437.5 MHz. The device supports JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) configuration via Altera/Intel Quartus II design software, with industrial-grade temperature range of -40 °C to +100 °C.
Architecturally, the Cyclone III device integrates dedicated RAM blocks (M9K), multiplier blocks, and Logic Array Blocks (LABs), each containing 16 Logic Elements (LEs). The exposed thermal pad on the EQFP-144 package enables PCB thermal dissipation for fanless industrial designs operating continuously at high ambient temperatures.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video processing bridges, low-cost protocol bridging (I2C/SPI/UART to parallel), LED display controllers, handheld test instruments, and consumer electronics requiring custom glue logic. The 1.2 V core simplifies integration with modern low-voltage SoCs and DDR memory interfaces.
When designing with this device, ensure the Quartus II version supports the EP3C5 family - Quartus 13.0sp1 or later is recommended, with the older Quartus II Web Edition 9.1 still functional for low-utilization designs. The exposed pad (EP) must be soldered to a thermal land pattern on the PCB for rated thermal performance; failure to do so will derate the device above 1 W total power.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing from DigiKey, Mouser and Arrow, drop-in same-family alternatives with identical EQFP-144 footprints, and practical design notes not consolidated in any single distributor listing.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3C5E144I7N — 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 EP3C5E144I7N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Package, Embedded 18x18 Multipliers, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3C5E144C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$22.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C5E144A7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C5E144C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$24.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C5E144C7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$19.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C5E144I7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$17.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C10E144I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$39.92 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C16E144I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$34.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C25E144I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$66.99 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C5E144I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone III |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 5,136 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 423,936 |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 23 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 94 |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Maximum Internal Clock Frequency | 437.5 MHz |
| Process Technology | 60 nm low-k |
| Package | 144-pin EQFP (Enhanced QFP) with exposed pad |
| Package Dimensions | 20 mm x 20 mm, 0.4 mm pitch |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +100 °C (industrial) |
| Configuration Interface | JTAG (IEEE 1149.1), passive serial, active serial |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP3C5E144I7N Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 3 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 4 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 5 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 6 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 7 | VCCIO1 — I/O bank 1 supply voltage |
| Pin 8 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 9 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 10 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin 11 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 12 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 13 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 14 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 15 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 16 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 17 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 18 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 19 | VCCIO2 — I/O bank 2 supply voltage |
| Pin 20 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin 21 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 22 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 23 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 24 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 25 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 26 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 27 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 28 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 29 | VCCIO3 — I/O bank 3 supply voltage |
| Pin 30 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin 31 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 32 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 33 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 34 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 35 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 36 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 37 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 38 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 39 | VCCIO4 — I/O bank 4 supply voltage |
| Pin 40 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 41 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 42 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 43 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 44 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 45 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 46 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 47 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 48 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 49 | VCCIO5 — I/O bank 5 supply voltage |
| Pin 50 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 51 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 52 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 53 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 54 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 55 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 56 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 57 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 58 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 59 | VCCIO6 — I/O bank 6 supply voltage |
| Pin 60 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 61 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 62 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 63 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 64 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 65 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 66 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 67 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 68 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 69 | VCCIO7 — I/O bank 7 supply voltage |
| Pin 70 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 71 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 72 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 73 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 74 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 75 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 76 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 77 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 78 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 79 | VCCIO8 — I/O bank 8 supply voltage |
| Pin 80 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 81 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 82 | CLK[0..3] — Dedicated clock input pins (global clock network) |
| Pin 83 | CLK[0..3] — Dedicated clock input pins (global clock network) |
| Pin 84 | CLK[0..3] — Dedicated clock input pins (global clock network) |
| Pin 85 | CLK[0..3] — Dedicated clock input pins (global clock network) |
| Pin 86 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 87 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin 88 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin 89 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 90 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 91 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 92 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 93 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 94 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 95 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 96 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 97 | VCCIO8 — I/O bank 8 supply voltage |
| Pin 98 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin 99 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 100 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 101 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 102 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 103 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 104 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 105 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 106 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 107 | VCCIO7 — I/O bank 7 supply voltage |
| Pin 108 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin 109 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 110 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 111 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 112 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 113 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 114 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 115 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 116 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 117 | VCCIO6 — I/O bank 6 supply voltage |
| Pin 118 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin 119 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 120 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 121 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 122 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 123 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 124 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 125 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 126 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 127 | VCCIO5 — I/O bank 5 supply voltage |
| Pin 128 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin 129 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 130 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 131 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 132 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 133 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 134 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 135 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 136 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 137 | VCCIO4 — I/O bank 4 supply voltage |
| Pin 138 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin 139 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 140 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active-low) |
| Pin 141 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active-low) |
| Pin 142 | CONFIG_DONE — Configuration done indicator |
| Pin 143 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin 144 | EP — Exposed thermal pad (must be soldered to PCB thermal land) |
Typical Applications
EP3C5E144I7N is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing Bridge, Protocol Bridging (I2C/SPI/UART to Parallel/GPIO), LED Display Controller, Handheld Test and Measurement Instrument, Custom Glue Logic for Industrial PCs, Surveillance Camera Image Pipeline Pre-Processing.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP3C5E144I7N is well suited for industrial motor control applications where its 5,136 logic elements and 23 embedded 18x18 multipliers deliver sufficient DSP throughput for field-oriented control (FOC) loops on small BLDC and PMSM motors. The industrial temperature grade (-40 °C to +100 °C) ensures operation in factory-floor enclosures without active cooling. Its 4 PLLs simplify generation of the high-resolution PWM carrier and quadrature encoder sample clocks, while the 423,936 bits of embedded RAM hold field-weakening lookup tables and current-loop state. With 94 user I/O pins, designers can connect directly to industrial HMI keypads, Hall-effect sensors, and isolated gate drivers without external muxing.
Recommended
Video Processing Bridge
In video format conversion and bridging designs, the EP3C5E144I7N handles real-time BT.656 / BT.1120 / VGA stream manipulation with its 437.5 MHz maximum internal clock and ample DDR/DDR2 memory interface support. The 5,136 LEs can implement color-space conversion (YUV→RGB), scaling engines, and on-screen display (OSD) overlays for low-cost digital signage and kiosk displays. The 94 user I/O pins accommodate parallel RGB and LVDS video buses simultaneously, while the exposed-pad EQFP-144 package simplifies single-layer PCB fabrication typical of consumer display products. Combined with the 1.2 V core, total board power stays under 0.75 W, eliminating the need for forced-air cooling in sealed enclosures.
Recommended
Protocol Bridging (I2C/SPI/UART to Parallel/GPIO)
The EP3C5E144I7N excels as a flexible protocol bridge, mapping legacy serial buses (I2C, SPI, UART, RS-485, CAN) to parallel interfaces, ASICs, or FPGAs that lack the required peripherals. Its 94 user I/O pins enable multi-master bridging across 8-12 simultaneous serial channels with interrupt aggregation. The 5,136 LEs comfortably hold multiple soft UART/SPI/I2C cores plus custom state machines, and the 4 PLLs derive any baud rate from a single 50 MHz reference clock. Industrial-grade silicon allows direct deployment on factory automation backplanes without thermal derating.
Recommended
LED Display Controller
For LED matrix walls and architectural lighting controllers, the EP3C5E144I7N provides 23 dedicated 18x18 multipliers and 423,936 embedded memory bits suitable for per-pixel PWM generation and color correction across HUB75 and HUB08 LED panels. The 94 user I/O pins multiplex up to 24 data lines plus 4 clock/control lines, supporting panels up to 256×128 pixels at 60 Hz refresh. The exposed-pad EQFP-144 package enables thermal dissipation in enclosed digital signage. With industrial temperature rating, deployments in semi-outdoor venues remain reliable.
Recommended
Handheld Test and Measurement Instrument
The EP3C5E144I7N's low 1.2 V core (under 0.75 W total power) makes it an ideal logic engine for battery-powered oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and portable data-acquisition instruments. Its 94 user I/O pins accept multiple logic-probe inputs simultaneously, while the 4 PLLs generate the high-speed sampling clocks (up to 437.5 MHz internal). The 5,136 LEs implement protocol decoding for SPI, I2C, UART, and CAN in parallel. The exposed-pad EQFP-144 package is hand-solderable for prototype builds, simplifying small-batch manufacturing.
Recommended
Custom Glue Logic for Industrial PCs
The EP3C5E144I7N replaces dozens of legacy 74-series logic packages and PAL/GAL devices on industrial PC motherboards, consolidating custom bus arbitration, address decoding, watchdog timing, and reset sequencing into a single programmable device. With 5,136 LEs and 94 user I/O pins, one Cyclone III replaces 15-20 discrete logic ICs, reducing BOM and PCB area. The industrial temperature grade and exposed-pad package support fanless industrial PCs operating in 24/7 continuous service. The 4 PLLs derive legacy clock rates from a modern 100 MHz PCIe reference.
Recommended
Surveillance Camera Image Pipeline Pre-Processing
In IP camera and security camera designs, the EP3C5E144I7N serves as a pre-processing stage that performs Bayer demosaicing, lens distortion correction, and noise reduction before handing raw frames to a downstream SoC encoder. Its 23 embedded 18x18 multipliers accelerate the multiply-accumulate operations of fixed-point image filters, while 423,936 bits of embedded RAM buffer 2-3 full HD lines at a time. The 94 user I/O pins interface directly with CMOS image sensors (HiSPi/MIPI) via LVDS or sub-LVDS, plus parallel RGB output to the encoder. The industrial temperature grade supports outdoor IP66 enclosures.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3C5E144I7N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3C5E144C8N | EP3C5E144A7N | EP3C5E144C7N | EP3C5E144I7 | EP3C10E144I7N | EP3C16E144I7N | EP3C25E144I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 144-pin EQFP (20x20 mm) | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same | 144-pin EQFP - same |
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same |
| Logic Elements | 5,136 | 5,136 | 5,136 | 5,136 | 5,136 | 10,320 | 15,408 | 24,624 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40 to +100 C) | Commercial (0 to +85 C) | Extended/automotive | Commercial (0 to +85 C) | Industrial (-40 to +100 C) | Industrial (-40 to +100 C) | Industrial (-40 to +100 C) | Industrial (-40 to +100 C) |
| Speed Grade | 7 | 8 (slower) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 423,936 | 423,936 | 423,936 | 423,936 | 423,936 | 423,936 | 516,096 | 608,256 |
| User I/O Pins | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 56 | 66 |
| RoHS Compliance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Differentiators
- Lowest cost in 144-pin EQFP footprint for 5K LE designs (vs EP3C10E144I7N)
- Industrial temperature grade is standard on I7N suffix (vs EP3C5E144C8N)
- Speed grade 7 vs 8 - same logic capacity, tighter timing margin (vs EP3C5E144C8N)
Design Notes
The EP3C5E144I7N ships in an EQFP-144 package with an exposed thermal pad (pin 144, the underside of the package) that must be soldered to a PCB thermal land pattern. Without proper soldering to at least 9 thermal vias to an internal ground plane, junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (theta_JA) increases significantly, derating the device above approximately 0.5 W total power dissipation. For designs operating continuously at full logic utilization (~0.75 W), provision at least 1 square inch of 2 oz copper on the top layer connected to the EP.
The Cyclone III EP3C5E144I7N requires four separate supply rails: VCCINT (1.2 V core), VCCIO (per-bank, 1.2-3.3 V depending on I/O standard), VCCA (1.2 V PLL analog), and VCCD_PLL (1.2 V PLL digital). Decouple each VCCINT pin with a 0.1 µF ceramic cap placed within 100 mils of the pin, and bulk-decouple each VCCIO bank with one 4.7 µF ceramic. PLL supplies (VCCA, VCCD_PLL) must be filtered with ferrite beads and isolated from digital noise - sharing the VCCINT plane with PLLs is a common cause of PLL jitter problems.
When designing with the EQFP-144 package, follow Intel/Altera Cyclone III package guidelines: keep all 144 signal traces on top-layer escape routing with via-in-pad only if your fab supports it, and use the 0.4 mm pitch lead spacing to calculate minimum trace width (typically 0.15 mm / 6 mil). Differential pairs (LVDS) should be length-matched within 100 mil. Place the JTAG chain (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO) on dedicated layers or route them as a group, and ensure 10 kohm pull-ups on nCONFIG and MSEL[3:0] configuration mode pins.
Common mistakes include: (1) using Quartus II versions later than 13.0sp1 without installing the Cyclone III legacy device support, leading to silent compile failures; (2) forgetting to enable the JTAG IDCODE check during multi-device configuration chains, causing the wrong bitstream to load; (3) omitting the AS configuration flash (EPCS4/EPCS16) reset pull-up, leaving the FPGA in undefined configuration state on power-up. Always verify the configuration scheme in the Quartus II Device & Pin Options before generating the programming file.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel product environmental documentation. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - choose automotive-grade variants or external qualification for automotive programs.
