EP3SE260F1517C2 - 260K LE Stratix III FPGA, 976 I/O, 1517-BGA | Altera
MPN: EP3SE260F1517C2 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18066.31 | $18,066.31 |
| 10 | $17500 | $175,000.00 |
| 50 | $16900 | $845,000.00 |
| 100 | $16400 | $1,640,000.00 |
| 500 | $15800 | $7,900,000.00 |
EP3SE260F1517C2 Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device containing an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) surrounded by programmable routing, hard IP (memory controllers, transceivers, DSP blocks, PLLs), and I/O. The Stratix III E FPGA sits in the Altera high-performance hierarchy: Stratix series -> high-end FPGA -> programmable logic -> logic IC -> integrated circuit. Designers use FPGAs to implement complex parallel datapaths, custom interfaces, and ASIC prototypes without the NRE cost of custom silicon.
Key features of the EP3SE260F1517C2 include 10200 Logic Array Blocks (LABs), up to 48 high-speed transceivers operating up to 6.375 Gbps, 384 multipliers (18x18), 12 PLLs, 4.6 Mb of distributed RAM plus 15.4 Mb of embedded block RAM, and support for external memory interfaces up to DDR3-800. The -C2 speed grade balances timing margin against FPU; the -I grade adds industrial temperature support.
The architecture combines Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs) that pack 8 inputs and 2 outputs into a single 56-bit register-rich block, plus dedicated hard IP for PCI Express Gen1/Gen2, 10G Ethernet MAC, and QDRII+/RLDRAM II controllers. Each transceiver channel includes signal-conditioning and dynamic reconfiguration blocks, allowing link-rate switching in the field without FPGA fabric intervention.
Typical applications include wireline telecommunications backhaul (40G/100G line cards), ASIC prototyping for DSP and packet-processing designs, high-end medical imaging pipelines, military/aerospace signal processing, and high-frequency trading accelerators. The 976 user I/Os allow direct fan-out to multiple banks of external SRAM/QDR/DDR memory.
When designing with this FPGA, plan power distribution first: Stratix III E devices can exceed 20W under full transceiver and logic utilization, so a multi-layer PCB with dedicated GND/power planes, decoupling capacitors every transceiver pin pair, and the Quartus II PowerPlay Power Analyzer is essential. Thermal management via heatsink or cold plate is typically required at full load; refer to the Altera AN 532 application note.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing as of 2026-09-09, drop-in same-package alternatives from the Altera Stratix III E family, and practical PCB/thermal design notes not consolidated on the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SE260F1517C2 — 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 EP3SE260F1517C2 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Speed Grade, Package, Operating Temperature, Process Node, Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SE260F1517C3N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$9850 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE260F1517C4
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$8400 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE260F1517I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3SE260F1517I4
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$10750 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE260F1517N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3SE260F1517C2 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix® III E |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 254,400 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LAB) | 10,200 |
| Total Memory Bits | 16,672,768 |
| Distributed RAM (Kb) | 4,608 |
| Embedded Block RAM (Kb) | 15,408 |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 384 |
| User I/O Pins | 976 |
| High-Speed Transceivers | 48 (up to 6.375 Gbps) |
| PLLs | 12 |
| Speed Grade | C2 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0C to +85C, suffix C2) |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Process Node | TSMC 40 nm |
EP3SE260F1517C2 1517-bbga, fcbga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SE260F1517C2 (1517-bbga, fcbga 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 EP3SE260F1517C2.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SE260F1517C2 is suitable for 6 applications: 100G Ethernet Line Card / Packet Processing, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, High-End Medical Imaging Pipeline, Military/Aerospace Signal Processing, High-Frequency Trading Accelerator, Software-Defined Radio Base Station.
100G Ethernet Line Card / Packet Processing
The EP3SE260F1517C2's 48 transceivers operating at up to 6.375 Gbps aggregate to ~300 Gbps of serial bandwidth, sufficient for 100G Ethernet plus oversubscription headroom. With 254,400 LEs the fabric absorbs packet classification, lookup tables, and queue management logic that would otherwise force an external lookup ASIC. The 976 user I/O pins fan out to QDRII+ and RLDRAM II memory banks sized for 100ms+ queue depth at line rate. Hard 10G Ethernet MAC IP cores from Altera shorten time-to-prototype. Power budget under full transceiver and logic utilization typically exceeds 20W, so multi-layer PCB with dedicated GND/power planes and the Quartus II PowerPlay Power Analyzer are mandatory.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
With 254,400 LEs the EP3SE260F1517C2 emulates ASIC designs up to ~5-10 million gates depending on memory and multiplier utilization, making it a workhorse for pre-silicon validation. Quartus II incremental compilation and LogicLock regions let the RTL team partition the ASIC design across multiple EP3SE260F1517C2 devices for multi-FPGA prototyping. The 16.6 Mb of embedded memory substitutes for register-file and small SRAM arrays in the emulated design. The C2 speed grade provides timing margin to absorb ASIC-to-FPGA mapping overhead. Designers porting to ASIC should budget for debug instrumentation: SignalTap II logic analyzer and JTAG-driven readback help correlate ASIC RTL state.
Recommended
High-End Medical Imaging Pipeline
CT, MRI, and ultrasound imaging pipelines require multi-channel ADC digitization, real-time beamforming, and image reconstruction kernels running at hundreds of frames per second. The EP3SE260F1517C2's 384 embedded 18x18 multipliers execute FFT and FIR filter kernels directly, while the 254,400 LEs run reconstruction algorithms (back-projection, iterative reconstruction) at clinical frame rates. The 48 transceivers aggregate data from multi-channel ADC front-ends at 6.375 Gbps per lane, eliminating the need for an external packetizer. PCI Express Gen2 hard IP connects to the host workstation for processed image transfer. The medical device IEC 60601-1 qualification rests on the OEM, not the FPGA.
Recommended
Military/Aerospace Signal Processing
Radar, electronic-warfare, and SIGINT systems require sustained wideband DSP throughput with deterministic latency. The EP3SE260F1517C2 in industrial-grade EP3SE260F1517I7 variant operates across -40C to +100C and supports Mil-Std-810 vibration profiles via proper PCB stiffener and BGA underfill. Hard transceivers feed ADC data at 6.375 Gbps into FFT and channelization pipelines implemented in the 384 multipliers and 254,400 LEs. Conduction-cooled chassis designs rely on the BGA package's exposed-die thermal path to a cold plate. Designers should validate SEU/SEE behavior using Altera's AN 539 radiation-mitigation application note and consider scrubbing for SEU-sensitive configuration memory.
Recommended
High-Frequency Trading Accelerator
Trading co-location racks demand sub-microsecond order-book processing, market-data parsing, and risk checks with deterministic latency. The EP3SE260F1517C2's C2 speed grade and dedicated hardware multipliers execute feed-handling and order-book logic at line rate, while the 48 transceivers aggregate market-data feeds at 10G Ethernet line rate. The 976 user I/O connects to multiple 10G SFP+ cages plus PCIe Gen2 host links to the trading server. Latency budgets of 200-500 ns per pipeline stage are achievable when the design is fully registered and pipelined. Static timing closure across all temperature corners requires the I7 (industrial) speed grade.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Base Station
SDR base stations execute channelization, up/down-conversion, and crest-factor reduction (CFR) / digital pre-distortion (DPD) on FPGA fabric. The EP3SE260F1517C2's 254,400 LEs plus 384 multipliers handle 4G LTE and 5G NR physical-layer processing for multiple sectors simultaneously. The 48 transceivers drive CPRI or OBSAI fronthaul links at 6.375 Gbps to remote radio heads. Hard 10G Ethernet MAC and PCI Express Gen2 cores connect to baseband cards. The C2 commercial speed grade is acceptable for environmentally controlled base stations; the I7 industrial variant is required for outdoor small-cell deployments.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SE260F1517C2 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SE260F1517C3N | EP3SE260F1517C4 | EP3SE260F1517I7N | EP3SE260F1517I4 | EP3SE260F1517N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA - same |
| Brand | Altera (Intel FPGA) | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Logic Elements | 254,400 | 254,400 (same die) | 254,400 (same die) | 254,400 (same die) | 254,400 (same die) | 254,400 (same die) |
| User I/O Pins | 976 | 976 (same) | 976 (same) | 976 (same) | 976 (same) | 976 (same) |
| Transceivers (max) | 48 (up to 6.375 Gbps) | 48 (same) | 48 (same) | 48 (same) | 48 (same) | 48 (same) |
| Embedded Memory (Mb) | 16.67 | 16.67 (same) | 16.67 (same) | 16.67 (same) | 16.67 (same) | 16.67 (same) |
| Lifecycle Status | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy |
Key Differentiators
- Largest I/O and transceiver count in the EP3SE260 die family (vs EP3SE260F1152C2N)
- Industrial-grade variant available in identical footprint (vs EP3SE260F1517I7N)
- C2 speed grade is the fastest commercial variant (vs EP3SE260F1517C3N)
- 254,400 LEs support multi-million-gate ASIC prototyping (vs EP3SE110F1152C2)
Design Notes
Estimated: the EP3SE260F1517C2 under full logic and transceiver utilization can exceed 20W total power. Distribute at least 6-8 low-impedance 0.1uF X7R ceramic decoupling capacitors per transceiver pin pair plus 100uF bulk tantalum or polymer capacitors per power rail. Use the Quartus II PowerPlay Power Analyzer with realistic toggle rates and probability settings before finalizing the power budget. Stratix III E devices require strict VCCINT, VCCA, VCCD_PLL, and VCCPT rail sequencing per Altera AN 532.
Estimated: with theta_JA in the 1.5-3 C/W range for the 1517-BGA package on a multi-layer PCB with thermal vias, the EP3SE260F1517C2 will require either a passive heatsink, active airflow, or conduction cooling at sustained >15W loads. Place at least a 4x4 array of 0.3 mm thermal vias directly under the package center thermal pad to spread heat to internal GND planes. For industrial/outdoor applications choose the EP3SE260F1517I7N variant and derate thermal envelope by 20-30%.
The 1517-BGA FCBGA has a 1.0 mm ball pitch requiring laser-drilled or micro-via PCB technology. Stack-up should be at least 12 layers with dedicated GND and VCC planes interleaved between signal layers. Transceiver differential pairs require 100 ohm differential impedance, length-matched to within 0.127 mm (5 mil) for 6.375 Gbps signals. Reference Altera AN 528 (Stratix III PCB Design Guidelines) for the complete breakout, via-in-pad, and de-skew recommendations.
Do not substitute the EP3SE260F1152C2N or other 1152-BGA EP3SE260 variants onto a 1517-BGA PCB footprint - the packages have different pin counts and ball maps. Verify the temperature-grade suffix matches your environment: C2/I7/C3/I4 distinctions matter more than speed grade alone. Configuration mode (JTAG, AS, PS, FPP) is selected by MSEL[3:0] pins and must match the boot PROM used. Cyclone III FPGAs (EP3C-series) are NOT compatible firmware substitutes despite similar naming.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliance status not explicitly stated in retrieved distributor data; lead-free yes inferred from FCBGA packaging standard. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC. Verify full compliance statements directly with Intel FPGA support before final qualification.
