EP3SE50F780C4LG - 47.5K LE Stratix III E FPGA, 488 I/O, FBGA-780 | Intel
MPN: EP3SE50F780C4LG ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $412 | $412.00 |
| 10 | $388.5 | $3,885.00 |
| 100 | $352 | $35,200.00 |
| 500 | $318.75 | $159,375.00 |
| 1,000 | $289.5 | $289,500.00 |
EP3SE50F780C4LG Overview
What is a Stratix III E FPGA? The Stratix III E (Enhanced) family sits within the broader hierarchy: FPGA -> programmable logic device (PLD) -> logic IC -> integrated circuit -> semiconductor. Built on TSMC's 40 nm low-power process, the E variants add more logic, memory, and DSP resources versus the Stratix III L (low-power) variants, while the programmable power technique (selectable core logic voltage per tile) and hard PCIe Gen1/Gen2, multi-Gbps transceivers, and dedicated DSP blocks make Stratix III E a preferred platform for high-throughput DSP, high-speed serial I/O, and memory-intensive designs.
Key features include up to 488 user I/Os, hard memory controllers (DDR/DDR2/DDR3), up to 5.49 Mbit embedded RAM, 304 multiplier blocks (18x18), support for 1066 Mbps DDR3 memory interfaces, integrated PCIe Gen1/Gen2 hard IP blocks, and configurable LVDS/HSUL/LVTTL/LVCOMS I/O standards. The -4 speed grade is the fastest commercially available Stratix III E speed bin, while the FBGA-780 package provides a 1.0 mm ball pitch suitable for high-layer-count PCBs.
Architecturally, the device uses an ALM (Adaptive Logic Module) as its basic logic unit - each ALM contains two combinational adaptive LUTs and two registers that can be split into smaller ALMs for high packing efficiency. Hard IP blocks (transceivers, PCIe, memory controllers, DSP, PLLs) reduce soft-logic overhead and lower latency for critical functions. The programmable power technology can switch tiles between high-speed and low-power mode, trading timing margin for static power.
Typical applications include high-end wireline telecom line cards, ASIC prototyping, broadcast video processing, military radar signal processing, medical imaging (ultrasound beamforming, CT reconstruction), and high-performance computing accelerators. The combination of high logic density and rich DSP/memory resources makes Stratix III E a fit for compute-intensive, I/O-heavy designs.
When designing with this device, plan for power-rail sequencing (VCCINT, VCCA, VCCIO, VCCD_PLL, VCCBAT), a multi-layer PCB with continuous ground and power planes, and thermal management under typical Stratix III E power densities of 0.5-1.5 W/cm^2.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, same-brand drop-in speed-grade alternatives, and practical design notes not collected in any single manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SE50F780C4LG — 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 EP3SE50F780C4LG (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Family, Mounting Type, Embedded Memory.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SE50F780C4L
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1320 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C4G
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$593 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C4
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$726.28 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE50F780C3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$717.12 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SE110F780C4G
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP3SE50F780C4LG Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix III E (Enhanced) |
| Logic Elements | 47,500 LE |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs) | 19,000 ALM |
| Embedded Memory | 5.49 Mbit |
| User I/Os | 488 I/O |
| Process Technology | 40 nm TSMC low-power CMOS |
| Speed Grade | -4 (fastest commercial) |
| Operating Temperature (Commercial) | 0 C to +85 C |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 0.9 V / 1.0 V / 1.1 V (programmable) |
| Operating Supply Voltage | 1.1 V (logic core nominal) |
| Package | 780-BBGA, FCBGA (FBGA-780, 1.0 mm pitch) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (SMT) |
| Lead-Free Status | Pb-free (LG suffix) |
| Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) | MSL 3 (per JEDEC J-STD-020) |
| RoHS Compliance | Compliant |
EP3SE50F780C4LG 780-bbga, fcbga (fbga-780, 1.0 mm pitch) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SE50F780C4LG (780-bbga, fcbga (fbga-780, 1.0 mm pitch) 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 EP3SE50F780C4LG.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SE50F780C4LG is suitable for 6 applications: Wireline Telecom Line Cards, ASIC Prototyping, Broadcast Video Processing, Medical Imaging (Ultrasound Beamforming), Military Radar Signal Processing, Industrial Test & Measurement.
Wireline Telecom Line Cards
The EP3SE50F780C4LG's 47.500 logic elements, 5.49 Mbit embedded memory, and hard memory controllers running DDR3 at up to 1066 Mbps map directly to wireline line-card workloads: packet header parsing, queue management, traffic shaping, and OAM processing. The 488 user I/Os accommodate multiple SGMII/QSGMII SFP interfaces, while the integrated multi-Gbps transceivers (where populated in this package) enable direct connection to backplane serial links. Compared with ASIC implementations, the Stratix III E device reduces NRE cost and accelerates time-to-market for multi-protocol aggregation platforms requiring 10 Gbps+ aggregate throughput.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
With 47,500 logic elements and a 488-I/O envelope, the EP3SE50F780C4LG fits mid-complexity ASIC prototyping where multiple prototype instances can be tiled across a multi-FPGA board. The hard memory controllers and abundant ALMs allow prototype mapping of CPU subsystems, interconnect fabrics, and DDR3 memory interfaces without speed-penalty from soft implementations. Designers benefit from Quartus II's incremental compile flow to partition large ASIC RTL across multiple Stratix III E FPGAs, validating timing and functionality before tape-out.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing
Broadcast video frame stores, format converters, and multi-channel SDI processing benefit from the EP3SE50F780C4LG's combination of 5.49 Mbit embedded RAM (used as line/frame buffers) and 488 I/Os for parallel SDI/HDMI pixel interfaces. The DSP blocks support real-time color-space conversion, scaling, and motion-adaptive deinterlacing pipelines. Speed grade -4 sustains 148.5 MHz pixel clocks required for 720p/1080i HD-SDI rates, while the FBGA-780 package provides sufficient I/O count for 4x multi-channel 3G-SDI ingest.
Recommended
Medical Imaging (Ultrasound Beamforming)
The EP3SE50F780C4LG's parallel DSP fabric suits ultrasound beamforming and front-end preprocessing, where 64-128 channels of I/Q demodulation, FIR filtering, and delay-line summation must run in real time. Each DSP block performs an 18x18 multiply-accumulate per cycle, and the 5.49 Mbit embedded memory holds channel coefficients and delay tap lines. The 488 I/Os accept parallel LVDS inputs from multi-channel ADC arrays, and speed grade -4 maintains 200+ MHz fabric Fmax for 40 MSPS channel rates typical of mid-range ultrasound systems.
Recommended
Military Radar Signal Processing
For pulse-Doppler and SAR radar pre-processing, the EP3SE50F780C4LG delivers 47.5K LE and DSP throughput sufficient for FFT engines up to 64K points at 200 MSPS, plus range/Doppler map storage in embedded memory. The -4 speed grade supports real-time I/Q demodulation and clutter filtering for L/S-band surveillance radar front-ends. The industrial/extended temperature grades (with part-number variant I4) extend operation to -40C to +100C for harsh-environment deployments, while the commercial -C variant suits ground-based installations.
Recommended
Industrial Test & Measurement
ATE pin-electronics, protocol analyzers, and high-speed data-acquisition systems leverage the EP3SE50F780C4LG's high I/O count and flexible I/O standards (LVDS, LVCMOS, HSTL, SSTL) to interface directly with DUTs without external level shifters. The 5.49 Mbit embedded memory holds capture buffers, while the DSP blocks accelerate CRC/checksum and pattern generation at multi-Gbps rates. The FBGA-780 package supports integration of multiple tester channels on a single FPGA, reducing BOM cost per channel versus discrete ASIC implementations.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SE50F780C4LG — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SE50F780C4L | EP3SE50F780C4G | EP3SE50F780C4 | EP3SE50F780C3N | EP3SE110F780C4G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 780-BBGA, FCBGA | 780-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 780-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 780-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 780-BBGA, FCBGA - same | 780-BBGA, FCBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 47,500 LE | 47,500 LE - same | 47,500 LE - same | 47,500 LE - same | 47,500 LE - same | 111,000 LE (+134%) |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALMs) | 19,000 ALM | 19,000 ALM - same | 19,000 ALM - same | 19,000 ALM - same | 19,000 ALM - same | 42,000 ALM (+121%) |
| Embedded Memory | 5.49 Mbit | 5.49 Mbit - same | 5.49 Mbit - same | 5.49 Mbit - same | 5.49 Mbit - same | 8.7 Mbit (+58%) |
| User I/Os | 488 I/O | 488 I/O - same | 488 I/O - same | 488 I/O - same | 488 I/O - same | 744 I/O (+52%) |
| Speed Grade | -4 (fastest commercial) | -4 - same | -4 - same | -4 - same | -3 (one bin slower) | -4 - same |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C (Commercial) | 0 C to +85 C - same | 0 C to +85 C - same | 0 C to +85 C - same | 0 C to +85 C - same | 0 C to +85 C - same |
| Approx. Unit Price (USD, qty-1) | 412.00 | ~412.00 - same silicon | ~412.00 - same silicon | ~412.00 - same silicon | ~395.00 (slightly lower) | ~875.00 (higher density) |
Key Differentiators
- Largest logic density for drop-in Stratix III E upgrade in FBGA-780 footprint (vs EP3SE50F780C4 (same silicon, different finish))
- Speed grade -4 provides the fastest commercial Fmax (vs EP3SE50F780C3N (speed grade -3))
- Higher density variant EP3SE110F780C4G fits same package footprint (vs EP3SE110F780C4G)
Design Notes
The Stratix III E core requires multiple regulated rails: VCCINT (0.9V/1.0V/1.1V programmable via VCCSEL pins), VCCD_PLL (1.1V), VCCIO (1.2V-3.3V bank-dependent), VCCA (2.5V), and VCCBAT (1.2-3.3V battery backup for configuration RAM). Sequence VCCINT first, then VCCIO/VCCA within 100 ms per the Stratix III handbook. Estimated: at 50% utilization and 200 MHz fabric clock, plan a 25 W worst-case budget for the EP3SE50; size the VCCINT regulator with at least 30% headroom.
Estimated: at typical Stratix III E power density of 0.8 W/cm^2 for 50% utilization, the FBGA-780 package's theta_JA of ~10 C/W (with 4-layer JEDEC test board) yields a 8 C rise per watt above ambient. A heat sink with thermal interface material is recommended above 10 W total dissipation. Place NTC thermistors or on-die temperature-sense diodes (one per Stratix III device) and feed them to a thermal supervisor to trigger throttling if junction exceeds 100 C.
FBGA-780 uses 1.0 mm ball pitch - design the PCB with 0.5 mm-diameter micro-vias in a dog-bone or via-in-pad pattern, with 1 oz copper outer layers and 0.5 oz inner layers. Route 488 single-ended I/Os in matched-length groups; for LVDS pairs, hold differential skew under 5 ps. Provide continuous ground and VCCINT planes on adjacent layers with stitching vias every 2-3 mm to suppress return-path discontinuities. Reference the Stratix III Device Handbook PCB design guidelines for impedance targets and decoupling recipes.
DDR3 interfaces running at 1066 Mbps require 50 ohm single-ended controlled impedance to VTT and 100 ohm differential for clocks. Fly-by topology with write leveling is mandatory above 800 MT/s. Place series-termination resistors within 200 mils of the FPGA pin; use IBIS-AMI simulation with Quartus II's TimeQuest timing analyzer to validate margins. For multi-Gbps transceivers, follow the Stratix III handbook's reference design for AC-coupling capacitor selection and pre-emphasis tap settings.
Do not exceed the 1.1 V absolute maximum on VCCINT, even transiently - the 40 nm process is sensitive to over-voltage. Verify configuration mode (AS, PS, JTAG, FPP) matches your board's boot source before layout; incorrect MSEL[3:0] settings prevent configuration. Always populate VCCBAT if you intend to use partial reconfiguration or fail-safe firmware update. Finally, do not hot-swap the FBGA-780 in-circuit - the absence of hot-swap I/O structures in Stratix III requires full power-down before removal.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance and Pb-free lead finish indicated by LG suffix per Altera/Intel product ordering information. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-qualified IC. Halogen-free status not specified in the verified data.
