EP3CLS100U484C7N - Cyclone III LS FPGA, 100K LE, 484-FBGA | Altera
MPN: EP3CLS100U484C7N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $644.76 | $644.76 |
| 10 | $580.28 | $5,802.80 |
| 100 | $515.81 | $51,581.00 |
| 500 | $460.55 | $230,275.00 |
| 1,000 | $412.65 | $412,650.00 |
EP3CLS100U484C7N Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) connected by a programmable interconnect and surrounded by programmable I/O cells. Modern FPGAs embed hard IP such as block RAM, DSP blocks, PLLs, and high-speed transceivers, allowing a single chip to implement complete digital signal-processing pipelines, glue logic, or even soft processor subsystems. Cyclone III LS belongs to Intel's low-power, low-cost FPGA family that sits beneath the Stratix series in the product hierarchy: FPGA -> low-cost FPGA -> Cyclone family -> Cyclone III -> Cyclone III LS (lower static power, targeted at power-sensitive applications). The 'LS' suffix indicates reduced-leakage silicon compared to standard Cyclone III, with lower static power at the cost of slightly lower maximum operating frequency.
Key features of the EP3CLS100U484C7N include 100,448 logic elements, 4,451,328 embedded memory bits (approximately 4.4 Mbits), dedicated 18x18 hardware multipliers for DSP, multiple phase-locked loops (PLLs) for clock management, and a 484-pin FBGA package that supports up to 278 general-purpose I/O pins spread across eight I/O banks. The 65 nm process and 1.2 V core voltage yield low static and dynamic power consumption relative to older 90 nm and 130 nm FPGA generations.
Architecturally, the Cyclone III LS device uses an SRAM-based configuration cell that is loaded from an external flash or configuration controller at power-up. Logic is implemented in Look-Up Tables (LUTs), DSP operations in dedicated multiplier blocks, and on-chip memory in M9K blocks (9 Kbits each). The integrated PLLs synthesize multiple clock domains from a small number of reference oscillators, and the I/O structure supports a wide range of single-ended and differential signaling standards (LVDS, SSTL, HSTL, LVCMOS, LVTTL, PCI, PCI-X).
Typical applications include industrial motor control and factory automation, video processing and display controllers, low-cost software-defined radio front-ends, embedded vision and machine-vision preprocessing, telecommunications line cards and protocol bridging, medical imaging front-ends, automotive driver-assistance subsystems, and educational/hobbyist development platforms such as the Altera/Intel DE0/DE2-115 boards. The combination of 100K logic elements, 278 user I/Os, and low 1.2 V core power makes the part well suited for medium-complexity parallel-processing tasks that would be too large for a CPLD yet do not justify a high-cost Stratix device.
When designing with this part, the engineer should plan the configuration scheme (AS, AP, PS, or JTAG), select appropriate decoupling for the 1.2 V core and the bank I/O supplies (typically 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, 3.3 V), and budget thermal dissipation. Although the 65 nm LS silicon is low-power, a fully utilized 100K-LE device with high toggle rates can still dissipate several watts; a small thermal pad or copper pour is recommended on the BGA land pattern.
This page synthesizes current distributor pricing, drop-in alternative parts, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone - giving engineers a faster path from selection to working hardware.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3CLS100U484C7N — 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 EP3CLS100U484C7N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Process Technology, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, Logic Elements.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3CLS100U484C7
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$520 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3CLS100F484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$495.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C80U484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet →EP3C55U484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$140.25 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3C40U484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$119.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3CLS100U484C7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Device Family | Cyclone III LS |
| Logic Elements | 100,448 |
| Embedded Memory | 4,451,328 bits (4.4 Mbit) |
| User I/O Pins | 278 |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) |
| Process Technology | 65 nm TSMC low-power |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Speed Grade | 7 (commercial) |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 437.5 MHz |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Configuration Mode | AS / AP / PS / JTAG |
| I/O Banks | 8 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Lead-Free | Yes |
EP3CLS100U484C7N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O BANK 8 — User I/O ball (bank 8, mixed-voltage capable) |
| Pin A22 | I/O BANK 8 — User I/O ball (bank 8) |
| Pin AB1 | I/O BANK 1 — User I/O ball (bank 1) |
| Pin AB22 | I/O BANK 1 — User I/O ball (bank 1) |
| Pin VCCINT | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (1.2 V nominal) |
| Pin VCCIO1-8 | VCCIO1-8 — I/O bank supply voltages (per-bank, 1.5/1.8/2.5/3.3 V) |
| Pin GND | GND — Common ground balls distributed across the BGA |
| Pin nCONFIG | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active-low device reset / config request) |
| Pin nSTATUS | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active-low open-drain) |
| Pin CONFIG_DONE | CONFIG_DONE — Configuration complete indicator (open-drain) |
| Pin MSEL[2:0] | MSEL[2:0] — Configuration mode select (AS/AP/PS/JTAG) |
| Pin TCK | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin TMS | TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin TDI | TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin TDO | TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin CLK[1:4] | CLK[1:4] — Dedicated global clock input pins |
| Pin DCLK | DCLK — Configuration clock (PS / FPP modes) |
| Pin DATA[7:0] | DATA[7:0] — Configuration data inputs (parallel / serial modes) |
Typical Applications
EP3CLS100U484C7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control and Factory Automation, Video Processing and Display Controllers, Software-Defined Radio Front-End and Signal Processing, Embedded Vision and Machine Vision Preprocessing, Telecommunications Line Cards and Protocol Bridging, Education, Development Kits and Hobbyist Projects.
Industrial Motor Control and Factory Automation
The EP3CLS100U484C7N is well suited to industrial motor-control and factory-automation controllers because it delivers 100,448 logic elements with 278 user I/Os across eight I/O banks, allowing integration of encoder interfaces (QEP), PWM generator blocks, current-sense ADCs, EtherCAT or Modbus communication, and a soft ARM Cortex-M0/M1 core (Altera Nios II equivalent) on a single chip. The 1.2 V core voltage of the Cyclone III LS sub-family reduces static power by roughly 30-50% versus the standard Cyclone III, which matters in always-on PLC racks and 24 V industrial backplanes where heat removal is constrained. The 437.5 MHz maximum internal clock supports deterministic real-time control loops at sub-microsecond loop periods, while the 18x18 hardware multipliers accelerate field-oriented-control (FOC) math (Clarke/Park transforms, PID, SVM). Designers can use the 4.4 Mbit embedded memory for commutation tables and ripple-cancellation buffers without burning external SRAM.
Recommended
Video Processing and Display Controllers
The EP3CLS100U484C7N is frequently used as a video bridge and image-processing pipeline element in mid-range displays, multi-view monitors, and machine-vision front-ends. Its 100K logic elements, dedicated 18x18 multipliers, and approximately 4.4 Mbit embedded RAM support real-time pipelines for deinterlacing, color-space conversion (YUV->RGB), scaling, and on-screen-display compositing. The 278 user I/Os (multiple LVDS/HSUL/LVCMOS banks) accept parallel RGB/TTL camera inputs and drive LVDS display panels, while the embedded PLLs synthesize pixel clocks from a single low-cost 27 MHz reference. Compared to a discrete ASIC or ASSP, the FPGA offers faster time-to-market and post-deployment firmware updates for evolving panel interfaces (MIPI-style adaptors via soft IP).
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Front-End and Signal Processing
The EP3CLS100U484C7N's combination of high logic density (100,448 LE), dedicated hardware multipliers (18x18), and 4.4 Mbit embedded memory makes it suitable for software-defined radio (SDR) and baseband signal-processing front-ends in commercial radio, public-safety, and low-cost wireless infrastructure. The hardware multipliers accelerate FFT, FIR, and correlation kernels; the M9K memory blocks implement window buffers, FFT twiddle tables, and per-channel sample storage. Designers typically pair the FPGA with a high-speed ADC (e.g., 14-bit, 125-250 MSPS) on the LVDS-capable I/O banks, and the embedded PLLs synthesize the ADC sample clock from a TCXO reference. The Cyclone III LS low-static-power profile also enables fan-less enclosure designs for outdoor SDR nodes.
Recommended
Embedded Vision and Machine Vision Preprocessing
For embedded-vision systems (industrial inspection cameras, robotics, smart kiosks), the EP3CLS100U484C7N provides the DSP throughput and I/O width required for pixel-level preprocessing before downstream classification. Its 18x18 hardware multipliers implement Sobel, Laplacian, and convolution kernels at video rates, while the M9K memory blocks buffer line-scan or area-scan image frames from a parallel CMOS sensor. The 278 user I/Os accept 24-bit RGB camera data plus control signals, and the LVDS-capable banks output processed data over a flat-panel link or gigabit serial channel (using soft SERDES or an external PHY). The 1.2 V low-static-power operation supports compact, fan-less camera housings.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line Cards and Protocol Bridging
The EP3CLS100U484C7N is used in telecommunications equipment as a low-cost protocol-bridging and line-card glue-logic device. Its 100K logic elements and 278 user I/Os allow parallel implementation of TDM-to-Ethernet bridges, SERDES adaptation layers, and front-panel status/control logic, while the embedded PLLs derive multiple clock domains for TDM, Ethernet, and backplane fabrics. Compared to older 90 nm and 130 nm FPGAs, the Cyclone III LS 65 nm silicon yields meaningfully lower power per LE, enabling higher port densities in constrained 1U/2U line-card slots. The mature Quartus II toolchain supports soft IP cores for HDLC, UART, SPI, and I2C without external license fees.
Recommended
Education, Development Kits and Hobbyist Projects
The Cyclone III LS family - including the EP3CLS100U484C7N - is the silicon heart of the widely-used Terasic DE2-115 development board and is a staple of university digital-logic and computer-architecture curricula. Its 100K logic elements are sufficient to host a soft Nios II / Nios V processor plus a rich peripheral set (VGA, PS/2, audio CODEC, Ethernet MAC, SDRAM, SRAM), making it ideal for teaching RTL design, SoC integration, and embedded C programming on a soft core. The 484-ball FBGA package provides ample general-purpose I/O for student add-on daughter cards, and the Quartus II / Quartus Prime free Web Edition toolchain supports the device without license fees. Hobbyists use the part for retro-computing projects, custom RISC-V soft cores, and FPGA-accelerated compute experiments.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3CLS100U484C7N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3CLS100U484C7 | EP3CLS100F484C7N | EP3C80U484C7N | EP3C55U484C7N | EP3C40U484C7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) | 484-ball FBGA | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) | 484-ball FBGA (UBGA) |
| Brand | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) |
| Logic Elements | 100,448 | 100,448 | 100,448 | 81,264 | 55,856 | 39,600 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 4,451,328 | 4,451,328 | 4,451,328 | 2,810,880 | 2,396,160 | 1,161,216 |
| User I/Os | 278 | 278 | 278 | 277 | 277 | 331 |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V |
| Speed Grade | 7 (commercial) | 7 (commercial) | 7 (commercial) | 7 (commercial) | 7 (commercial) | 7 (commercial) |
| Process | 65 nm low-power | 65 nm low-power | 65 nm low-power | 65 nm | 65 nm | 65 nm |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic density in the Cyclone III LS 484-ball FBGA package (vs EP3C80U484C7N)
- Cyclone III LS low-static-power silicon at full 100K density (vs EP3CLS100F484C7N)
- Mature Quartus II / Quartus Prime toolchain support with free Web Edition (vs Cross-brand Xilinx Spartan-6 (XC6SLX100))
Design Notes
Estimated: the EP3CLS100U484C7N core draws 1.2 V at the VCCINT rail, and total power depends on toggle rate, utilization, and I/O bank voltages. For a typical 60-70% utilization design with 8 banks running at 2.5 V, plan roughly 1.5-2.5 W of core power plus I/O power. Provide at least 1 oz copper on inner VCCINT/GND planes and use a four-layer PCB stackup (signal-GND-VCCINT-signal) to keep the core supply within 50 mV of nominal under transient load.
Although the Cyclone III LS silicon is low-static-power, a fully-utilized 100K-LE device can still dissipate several watts. Verify the FBGA's theta_JA from the Cyclone III Device Handbook (Chapter 8) against your board's copper area. For the 484-ball FBGA, plan at least four thermal vias in a 1-2-1 pattern under the central ball array and expose a thermal pad on the bottom layer to spread heat into the chassis.
Use a 1.0 mm ball-pitch layout for the 484-ball FBGA - escape routing must go through inner microvia layers on a high-density interconnect (HDI) stackup. Provide isolated analog and digital grounds joined at a single point under the FPGA, and decouple each VCCINT pin with a 0.1 uF X7R plus a 10 uF bulk capacitor within 3 mm of the ball. Each VCCIO bank supply requires its own 0.1 uF + 10 uF decoupling pair to prevent simultaneous switching noise (SSN) on mixed-voltage I/O.
Do not confuse the 'U' UBGA package suffix with the 'F' standard FBGA - both use a 484-ball count but the ball pattern and escape routing differ in detail. Verify the exact package code (U484 vs F484) against the PCB footprint before re-spinning a board. Also ensure MSEL[2:0] strapping resistors match the desired configuration mode (AS/AP/PS/JTAG); incorrect MSEL settings are a leading cause of 'device not configuring' symptoms in the field.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per manufacturer product page; commercial temperature grade 0C to +85C (not AEC-Q100 automotive qualified - choose industrial/automotive-graded Cyclone III variant for vehicle applications).
