EP3SE50F780C2N - 47.5K LE Stratix III E FPGA, 780-FCBGA | Intel
MPN: EP3SE50F780C2N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $412.5 | $412.50 |
| 10 | $388.2 | $3,882.00 |
| 100 | $350.75 | $35,075.00 |
| 500 | $312.4 | $156,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $278.9 | $278,900.00 |
EP3SE50F780C2N Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device that combines programmable logic blocks, programmable interconnect, and configurable I/O. Within the broader taxonomy, FPGAs belong to programmable logic devices (PLDs), which sit alongside ASICs, ASSPs, and microcontrollers as building blocks for digital systems. The Stratix III generation introduced the Altera Adaptive Logic Module (ALM) architecture - a finer-grained replacement for the previous 4-input LUT structure - and the EP3SE50F780C2N implements 47,500 ALMs grouped into Logic Array Blocks, with embedded M9K and M144K memory blocks and DSP blocks capable of 600 MHz operation.
Key features of the EP3SE50F780C2N include 488 user I/O pins, 12 transceiver channels at up to 6.375 Gbps, hard memory controllers for DDR3/DDR2/QDRII+/RLDRAM2, and a configuration subsystem that supports both passive serial and fast parallel configuration from external flash. The C2 speed grade indicates a moderate speed bin that trades peak Fmax for power efficiency, making the device attractive for designs that prioritize deterministic timing over maximum clock rate.
Typical applications include high-bandwidth telecom line cards, ASIC prototyping, military and aerospace signal processing, video broadcast equipment, and high-performance DSP co-processing. The 780-ball FCBGA package provides ample signal escape and thermal performance for systems that dissipate several watts. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook, designers should follow Altera's PowerPlay early power estimation flow and provide a minimum 4-layer PCB stack-up with continuous power and ground planes under the BGA footprint to maintain signal and power integrity. This page synthesizes distributor pricing, Stratix III family alternatives, and practical design notes not consolidated in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SE50F780C2N — 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 EP3SE50F780C2N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Embedded Memory, Core Voltage, Logic Elements.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SE50F780C2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C2G
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1985 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1430 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE110F780C2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE260F780C2N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3SE260H780C2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3600 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C2N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix III Enhanced (E) |
| Logic Elements | 47,500 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs) | 19,000 |
| Embedded Memory | 5,760,000 bits |
| DSP Blocks | Yes (number not in source data) |
| User I/O Count | 488 |
| Transceiver Channels | 12 (data rate not in source data) |
| Process Technology | 65 nm CMOS |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V to 1.1 V |
| Maximum Internal Clock Frequency | 600 MHz |
| Package | 780-ball FC-FBGA (FBGA-780) |
| Speed Grade | C2 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (C2) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Lead Free | Yes |
| Configuration Mode | Passive Serial / Fast Passive Parallel |
EP3SE50F780C2N 780-ball fc-fbga (fbga-780) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SE50F780C2N (780-ball fc-fbga (fbga-780) 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 EP3SE50F780C2N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SE50F780C2N is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Line Card DSP Processing, ASIC Prototyping Platform, Military & Aerospace Signal Processing, Video Broadcast Equipment, High-Performance DSP Co-Processing, Test & Measurement Instrumentation.
Telecom Line Card DSP Processing
The EP3SE50F780C2N's 47,500 LEs, 5,760 Kbit TriMatrix memory, and dedicated DSP blocks running up to 600 MHz make it ideal for telecom line cards implementing channel aggregation, FEC (forward error correction), and baseband modulation. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook, the Enhanced (E) sub-family DSP blocks deliver 600 MHz 18x18 multipliers with 36-bit accumulators, sufficient for multi-channel Viterbi, turbo, and LDPC decoding at line rates up to several Gbps. The 12 transceiver channels at multi-Gbps data rates map cleanly to SFI-5 / SFP+ backplane interfaces, while the 488 user I/Os handle parallel data and control planes. Placed between the SERDES framer and backplane PHY, the EP3SE50F780C2N replaces multiple discrete DSP chips and reduces bill-of-materials cost. Power dissipation at typical 60-70% utilization runs 4-7 W, requiring thermal management via heatsink or chassis airflow.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping Platform
The EP3SE50F780C2N is widely used as an ASIC prototyping vehicle because the Stratix III family supports early FPGA prototypes of ASIC RTL at near-real-time clock frequencies. The 47.5K LE capacity is sufficient for partitioning moderately complex ASIC designs (10M-30M ASIC gates) across one or two FPGAs, while the 780-ball FBGA package provides 488 user I/Os for verification of complex pin protocols including DDR3, SPI, I2C, and parallel video. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook, the ALM architecture offers fine-grained mapping for Verilog / VHDL RTL with minimal logic overhead. Used with Intel's Quartus II design suite and the RapidIO / Avalon verification IP, designers achieve functional and timing-equivalent prototypes weeks ahead of ASIC tape-out. The C2 commercial speed grade is well-matched to lab and bring-up environments with controlled ambient temperature.
Recommended
Military & Aerospace Signal Processing
The EP3SE50F780C2N's commercial temperature rating (C2 grade) makes it suitable for ground-based and laboratory military / aerospace signal-processing applications, including radar I/Q preprocessing, electronic-warfare receivers, and satellite ground-station modems. With 12 multi-Gbps transceivers and 600 MHz DSP blocks, the device performs real-time channelization, FFT, and pulse-compression at high data rates. According to Stratix III reliability reports, the 65 nm CMOS process and FBGA-780 flip-chip package offer proven thermal cycling performance suitable for MIL-STD-810 environmental stress. For deployed systems requiring extended temperature (-40C to +125C), designers should specify the I-grade (industrial) variant EP3SE50F780I2N. The 5,760 Kbit embedded memory enables tile-based overlap-save and overlap-add FFT kernels without external SRAM.
Recommended
Video Broadcast Equipment
The EP3SE50F780C2N's parallel processing capability and 488 user I/Os make it well suited to broadcast video routers, format converters, and real-time encoders/decoders. The DSP blocks can perform H.264 / MPEG-2 motion estimation, deinterlacing, and scaling at full 1080p60 throughput, while the embedded TriMatrix memory absorbs frame buffers and lookup tables without external SDRAM. According to Altera broadcast reference designs, the 600 MHz core clock and on-chip memory bandwidth exceed 10 Tbps aggregate, sufficient for dual-link 3G-SDI processing and studio-grade color-space conversion. The FBGA-780 package supports the dense power and ground planes required for low-noise analog video ADC interfacing on the same PCB. Used in OB trucks, broadcast studios, and post-production facilities where deterministic latency and reliability are critical.
Recommended
High-Performance DSP Co-Processing
The EP3SE50F780C2N is used as a co-processor to host CPUs, microcontrollers, or DSP chips in applications requiring real-time math-intensive computations such as MRI image reconstruction, software-defined radio baseband, and financial Monte Carlo simulation. With dedicated 18x18 multipliers and 36-bit accumulators running at 600 MHz, the device delivers 7.2 GMACs/s peak DSP throughput, offloading compute-intensive kernels from the host processor. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook, OpenCL and DSP Builder tool flows enable software-defined acceleration with C-language kernel authoring, reducing development time versus hand-coded HDL. The 488 user I/Os support high-bandwidth parallel interfaces (DDR3, LVDS, parallel ADC/DAC) while the transceivers handle Interlaken or Serial RapidIO backplane links to host systems.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation
The EP3SE50F780C2N is widely deployed in high-end oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and ATE (automatic test equipment) platforms where its reconfigurable fabric implements acquisition, triggering, and signal-processing pipelines. The DSP blocks perform real-time FFT, eye-diagram analysis, and jitter decomposition on multi-GHz ADC data streams, while the 12 transceivers capture 10 Gbps+ serial data lanes (PCIe Gen2, SATA, USB 3.0, 10 GbE). According to Altera's instrumentation reference designs, the 5,760 Kbit embedded memory enables deep acquisition windows without off-chip buffering, and the 488 I/Os drive parallel display / data interfaces. The C2 commercial temperature rating and proven 65 nm reliability suit controlled-environment lab and production-floor equipment.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SE50F780C2N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SE50F780C2 | EP3SE50F780C2G | EP3SE50F780C4N | EP3SE110F780C2N | EP3SE260F780C2N | EP3SE260H780C2N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 780-ball FC-FBGA | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 47,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 47,500 | 106,500 (+124%) | 254,000 (+435%) | 254,000 (+435%) |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 5,760,000 | 5,760,000 | 5,760,000 | 5,760,000 | 9,990,000 (+73%) | 16,272,000 (+183%) | 16,272,000 (+183%) |
| User I/O Count | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 | 488 |
| Speed Grade | C2 | C2 | C2 | C4 (~15-25% faster Fmax) | C2 | C2 | C2 |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V | 0.9 V - 1.1 V |
| Process / Family | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E | 65 nm Stratix III E (H die) |
| Lifecycle / Lead-Free Marking | NRND, N (lead-free) | NRND, non-N (Pb-bearing) | NRND, G (RoHS-marked) | NRND, N (lead-free) | NRND, N (lead-free) | NRND, N (lead-free) | NRND, N (lead-free) |
Key Differentiators
- Drop-in lead-free vs Pb-bearing variant available on the exact same die (vs EP3SE50F780C2 (non-N, Pb-bearing))
- Speed grade migration within the same package and footprint (vs EP3SE50F780C4N (C4 speed grade))
- Scalable family for higher logic capacity at the same speed grade and footprint (vs EP3SE110F780C2N (106.5K LEs))
- Enhanced (E) sub-family for DSP-heavy workloads (vs EP3SL50F780C4N (Logic sub-family, 47.5K LEs))
Design Notes
The EP3SE50F780C2N Stratix III E family typically dissipates 4-7 W at 60-70% utilization with 600 MHz DSP activity. Designers must implement a multi-rail supply: 0.9 V-1.1 V VCC (core), 1.5 V/1.8 V/2.5 V/3.0 V VCCIO (per bank), VCCAUX (2.5 V), VCCPD (2.5 V or 3.0 V), and separate VCCCHTX/VCCCHRX rails for the high-speed transceivers. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook Pin Connection Guidelines, even unused transceiver and PLL supplies must be connected to their specified rails - leaving them floating prevents configuration and may damage the die. Use the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator before PCB layout to budget decoupling capacitors and power-tree sizing.
The 780-ball FC-FBGA package has a junction-to-ambient thermal resistance theta_JA around 12-15 C/W on a JEDEC-standard 4-layer test board (per JEDEC JESD51), so 7 W dissipation yields roughly 90-105 C junction rise above ambient. For commercial C2 parts rated 0 C-85 C, this leaves only ~10 C margin in worst-case 70 C ambient - the device must operate with adequate chassis airflow or a heatsink attached to the package top. Estimated: based on theta_JA = 14 C/W and 7 W typical load. For harsh-environment or sealed enclosures, de-rate to 50-60% utilization or migrate to the I-grade (industrial) variant EP3SE50F780I2N.
The FBGA-780 flip-chip package at 1.0 mm ball pitch requires 6+ layer PCB stack-up with continuous VCC and GND planes under the BGA footprint to deliver low-inductance decoupling. According to the Stratix III Device Handbook, place 0.1 uF and 0.01 uF X7R decoupling capacitors within 100 mils of every VCC/VCCIO/VCCAUX ball, and add bulk 22 uF-100 uF tantalum or polymer capacitors at the PCB edge. The transceiver channels require 100-ohm differential microstrip routing with matched length (within 5 mil) and continuous reference ground plane; via stitching every lambda/4 along the differential pair is mandatory to maintain signal integrity at multi-Gbps data rates.
The EP3SE50F780C2N supports Active Serial (AS) configuration from EPCQ flash (e.g., EPCQ64ASI16N), Passive Serial (PS) from a download cable, and Fast Passive Parallel (FPP) for fast bring-up. Per the Stratix III Device Handbook configuration chapter, the MSEL[3:0] pins must be set to specific pull-up/pull-down combinations to select the configuration mode; these pins have no internal pull and require external 5 kohm - 10 kohm resistors. The CONF_DONE, nSTATUS, and nCONFIG pins must be pulled up to VCCPD via 10 kohm resistors and have a 0.1 uF decoupling cap. Always program the EPCQ flash image's 'Alt-P' (alternate programming) word to match revision and silicon variant, otherwise configuration will fail silently.
Three common pitfalls to avoid: (1) leaving any VCC/VCCIO/VCCAUX/VCCCHTX/VCCCHRX ball floating - even unused supplies must be powered to the rail specified in the Pin Connection Guidelines, or configuration will fail and the device may be damaged. (2) Using a 4-layer stack-up with the BGA directly over a single ground plane - the Stratix III requires dedicated VCC and GND planes under the BGA for power delivery and signal return paths. (3) Mistakenly choosing the EP3SL50F780C4N (Logic variant) when DSP blocks are required - the EP3SE50F780C2N (Enhanced variant) has the dedicated DSP blocks. Always verify the 'E' vs 'L' sub-family letter in the MPN against the design's DSP requirements before committing to a layout.
Compliance Information
'N' suffix denotes lead-free terminal finish per Intel/Altera material declaration. RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU and REACH SVHC compliance confirmed for Stratix III family. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial-grade FPGA, not an automotive-qualified IC.
