EP3SE110F780C4 - Stratix III E FPGA, 107500 LEs, 780-FCBGA | Intel
MPN: EP3SE110F780C4 β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3417.63 | $3,417.63 |
| 10 | $3210 | $32,100.00 |
| 100 | $2890 | $289,000.00 |
| 500 | $2620 | $1,310,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $2380 | $2,380,000.00 |
EP3SE110F780C4 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory, DSP slices, and programmable interconnect, allowing engineers to implement arbitrary digital logic after fabrication. Within the broader taxonomy, an FPGA belongs to programmable logic devices -> logic ICs -> integrated circuits. The Stratix III E family sits in Intel's high-performance tier, positioned between cost-optimized Cyclone families and the higher-end Stratix V series, and is widely deployed for ASIC prototyping, high-speed packet processing, and wireless baseband signal chains.
Key features of the EP3SE110F780C4 include 4,300 Logic Array Blocks (LABs), 8.9 Mbits of M9K block RAM, 896 DSP blocks (18x18 multipliers), up to 1.6 Gbps transceiver performance, and support for DDR3 memory interfaces up to 800 MHz. The C4 speed grade places it in the lower-power corner of the speed-grade spectrum, while the 780-FCBGA package offers 488 user I/O for connectivity-dense designs. The 40 nm process node balances static power and performance, and the device supports Partial Reconfiguration for systems that require runtime logic swaps.
Architecturally, the EP3SE110F780C4 implements a hierarchical routing fabric with adaptive logic modules (ALMs), each containing two 4-input fracturable look-up tables. The transceiver tiles integrate hard PCIe Gen2 and Serial RapidIO IP blocks, offloading common serial-protocol state machines from the fabric and freeing logic for application-level work. Adaptive voltage scaling reduces dynamic power by lowering Vcc on inactive regions.
Typical applications include high-end ASIC prototyping, high-performance DSP acceleration, telecom baseband processing, broadcast video processing, and high-speed serial interface bridging. Designers typically use the Quartus II design suite (Cyclone/Stratix family support) for HDL entry, synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure on this device.
A practical design consideration is thermal management: the 780-FCBGA package and 40 nm process require careful PCB thermal vias and a multi-layer stack-up with adequate ground pour to dissipate the ~10-15 W typical power envelope. Signal-integrity-aware pinout planning is also essential for 1.6 Gbps transceiver channels, which mandate controlled-impedance routing and length matching within tight tolerances.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from Intel's Stratix III E family, application guidance, and design considerations not collected in one place in the manufacturer datasheet, giving procurement and design engineers a single reference for sourcing and applying EP3SE110F780C4.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SE110F780C4 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 EP3SE110F780C4 (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Mounting Type, Embedded Memory, Speed Grade, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SE110F780C3
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$220 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP3SE110F780C2
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$4350 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP3SE110F780C2N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP3SL110F780C2N
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3SE110F780C3N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1245 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP3SE110F780C4 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix III E |
| Logic Elements | 107,500 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 4,300 |
| Embedded Memory | 8,936,448 bits (8.9 Mbit) |
| DSP Blocks (18x18 Multipliers) | 896 |
| Maximum User I/O | 488 |
| Package | 780-ball FCBGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Speed Grade | C4 |
| Process Node | 40 nm |
| Transceiver Data Rate | Up to 1.6 Gbps |
| Memory Interface Support | DDR3 up to 800 MHz |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Configuration | Partial Reconfiguration support |
EP3SE110F780C4 780-ball fcbga (fineline bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SE110F780C4 (780-ball fcbga (fineline bga) 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 EP3SE110F780C4.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SE110F780C4 is suitable for 6 applications: High-End ASIC Prototyping, High-Performance DSP Acceleration, Telecom Baseband Processing, Broadcast Video Processing, High-Speed Serial Interface Bridging, Test and Measurement Instrumentation.
High-End ASIC Prototyping
The EP3SE110F780C4's 107,500 logic elements and 488 user I/O make it a strong fit for ASIC prototyping where engineers emulate a complete ASIC RTL design on a single FPGA before tape-out. The 8.9 Mbit of embedded M9K block RAM supports realistic cache and buffer hierarchies, while 896 DSP blocks emulate MAC arrays and baseband datapaths with full timing accuracy. Designers partition the ASIC RTL across logic, memory, and DSP resources, then validate at near-ASIC clock frequencies using Quartus II synthesis and timing closure. Compared with smaller FPGAs, the SE110 reduces multi-FPGAs partitioning overhead, simplifying bring-up of complex SoC prototypes that would otherwise need multiple devices stitched together.
Recommended
High-Performance DSP Acceleration
With 896 dedicated 18x18 multipliers and high M9K memory bandwidth, the EP3SE110F780C4 is well-suited for DSP acceleration tasks such as FFT, FIR filtering, and matrix multiplication in signal-processing pipelines. Each DSP block can be cascaded to implement systolic arrays for radar, software-defined radio, and video codec workloads. The 780-FCBGA package exposes enough user I/O to keep data flowing in and out of the DSP pipeline at full rate, and the C4 speed grade supports higher Fmax than the C2/C3 variants for compute-bound kernels. Compared with GPU-based acceleration, the FPGA delivers deterministic latency and lower jitter, which matters for closed-loop control and real-time baseband processing.
Recommended
Telecom Baseband Processing
The EP3SE110F780C4's combination of embedded memory, DSP blocks, and 1.6 Gbps multi-gigabit transceivers suits it for telecom baseband processing in LTE, WiMAX, and proprietary wireless backhaul designs. The hardened transceiver tiles handle CPRI/OBSAI fronthaul and Serial RapidIO links to baseband ASICs, offloading PHY work from the fabric. M9K blocks implement channel estimation buffers and interleaver tables, while DSP blocks perform turbo/LDPC decoding and crest-factor reduction. The 488 user I/O support antenna-interface digitizers, GPS synchronization inputs, and CPRI backhaul to a baseband unit in a single device, replacing what would otherwise require a baseband ASIC plus companion FPGA.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing
The EP3SE110F780C4's parallel DSP fabric and 488 I/O are well matched to broadcast video workloads including SD/HD/3G-SDI processing, video format conversion, and multi-channel color-space conversion. Hardened SDI IP cores occupy minimal logic, leaving most of the FPGA's 107,500 logic elements for scaling, de-interlacing, and overlay engines. M9K blocks implement line buffers and frame stores for full-HD processing at 60 fps without external SDRAM, although DDR3 interfaces can be added for 4K pipelines. The C4 speed grade supports the higher pixel clocks required for 3G-SDI and HDMI 1.4, while lower speed grades may not close timing at 148.5 MHz pixel rates.
Recommended
High-Speed Serial Interface Bridging
The EP3SE110F780C4's multi-gigabit transceivers operating up to 1.6 Gbps make it a strong fit for bridging between high-speed serial protocols such as PCIe Gen2, Serial RapidIO, and custom LVDS links in storage and embedded systems. Hardened PCIe and SRIO IP blocks eliminate soft-logic serialization, freeing the fabric for protocol conversion glue logic and buffering. The 488 user I/O connect to legacy parallel buses, SATA/SAS controllers, and GPIO-rich backplanes, while the embedded M9K blocks serve as elastic FIFOs across clock domains. This bridging role is common in industrial controllers, military/aerospace systems, and embedded computing platforms where multiple serial standards must coexist.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP3SE110F780C4's combination of DSP bandwidth, fast transceivers, and high I/O count fits high-end test and measurement equipment such as protocol analyzers, bit-error-rate testers, and arbitrary waveform generators. M9K memory implements deep capture buffers for serial protocol analysis, while 896 DSP blocks perform real-time FFT-based spectrum analysis and correlation. The C4 speed grade supports the high Fmax needed for 1.6 Gbps serial pattern generation, and partial reconfiguration allows the same hardware to switch between multiple instrument personalities at runtime. Designers using Quartus II IP catalog can instantiate DisplayPort, HDMI, and SDI test pattern generators with minimal external components, keeping the BOM small.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SE110F780C4 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SE110F780C3 | EP3SE110F780C2 | EP3SE110F780C2N | EP3SL110F780C2N | EP3SE110F780C3N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 780-FCBGA | 780-FCBGA - same | 780-FCBGA - same | 780-FCBGA - same | 780-FCBGA - same | 780-FCBGA - same |
| Family | Stratix III E | Stratix III E | Stratix III E | Stratix III E | Stratix III L (low-power) | Stratix III E |
| Speed Grade | C4 | C3 (one bin slower) | C2 (two bins slower) | C2 (two bins slower) | C2 (L variant) | C3 (one bin slower) |
| Logic Elements | 107,500 | 107,500 | 107,500 | 107,500 | 107,500 | 107,500 |
| Embedded Memory | 8.9 Mbit | 8.9 Mbit | 8.9 Mbit | 8.9 Mbit | 8.9 Mbit | 8.9 Mbit |
| DSP Blocks | 896 | 896 | 896 | 896 | 896 | 896 |
| User I/O | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 |
| Static Power Profile | Standard | Standard | Standard (lower at C2) | Standard (lower at C2) | Reduced (~50% lower) | Standard |
| Lead-Free (RoHS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade in same-family drop-ins (vs EP3SE110F780C3)
- Standard power profile vs low-power L variant (vs EP3SL110F780C2N)
- Direct commercial-temperature offering (vs EP3SE110F780I4)
Design Notes
Estimated: at 100% logic utilization and 1.6 Gbps transceiver activity, the EP3SE110F780C4 dissipates approximately 12-15 W. The 780-FCBGA package requires a thermal pad with a 6x6 thermal via array (0.3 mm pitch, 0.2 mm drill) tied to internal ground planes to keep junction temperature below 100 C. Use the Quartus PowerPlay Early Power Estimator before board layout to refine the budget; without proper thermal vias, expect thermal throttling or device damage at high utilization.
Multi-gigabit transceiver channels require controlled-impedance (100 ohm differential) routing with length matching within 0.13 mm (5 mil) for data, and within 0.25 mm (10 mil) for data-vs-clock at 1.6 Gbps. Use the Stratix III High-Speed PCB Design Guidelines in the device handbook to plan stack-up: typically 8-12 layer board with low-loss dielectric (Df < 0.015 at 1 GHz) for backplane applications. Reference clocks must be length-matched to within 50 mils and routed on inner stripline layers with continuous ground reference.
The EP3SE110F780C4 requires multiple supply rails: VCCINT (core, 0.9 V typical), VCCAUX (auxiliary, 2.5 V), VCCIO (I/O banks, 1.2/1.5/1.8/2.5/3.3 V bank-specific), VCCPD (I/O pre-driver, 2.5/3.3 V), and transceiver supplies (VCCR/VCCT, 1.1 V). Decoupling per Stratix III pin connection guidelines: 0.1 uF X7R on every VCC pin pair, plus bulk 22 uF tantalum and 220 uF aluminum polymer per supply. Power-on sequence requires VCCINT before VCCAUX before VCCIO per the device handbook to avoid latch-up.
Do not confuse the C4 speed grade with the I4 industrial temperature grade - C4 means commercial temperature range (0 C to 85 C) with the fourth-fastest speed bin. For industrial temperature, order the EP3SE110F780I4 variant. Also note that partial reconfiguration requires careful floorplanning and cannot be retrofitted without re-synthesis; design for it from the start if runtime logic swaps are needed.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Intel FPGA product family declaration. 780-FCBGA is lead-free with lead-free solder balls, reflow-compatible to JEDEC J-STD-020 MSL-3. AEC-Q100 not applicable (FPGAs are not automotive-qualified discrete components). Halogen-free status not stated in available data.
