EP3SL200F1517I4L - 200K LE Stratix III L FPGA, 1517-FCBGA | Altera
MPN: EP3SL200F1517I4L ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2800 | $2,800.00 |
| 10 | $2680 | $26,800.00 |
| 50 | $2540 | $127,000.00 |
| 100 | $2420 | $242,000.00 |
| 500 | $2280 | $1,140,000.00 |
EP3SL200F1517I4L Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device containing an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnects, and dedicated DSP/memory blocks that can be re-wired after manufacture. FPGAs sit between fixed-function ASICs and general-purpose processors: they offer ASIC-like throughput and parallelism while remaining software-reconfigurable. Stratix III devices occupy the high-end of Altera's FPGA portfolio, bridging the older Stratix II and later Stratix IV/V families, and historically targeted high-bandwidth DSP, telecom, and ASIC-prototyping workloads.
Key features include 8,000 LABs (Logic Array Blocks), 384 embedded 18x18 multipliers, and 24 transceivers (per family overview) capable of up to 3.75 Gbps. Programmable Power Technology (PPT) dynamically scales quiescent current block-by-block, while hard PCIe hard IP, 8-input fracturable ALMs, and TriMatrix on-chip SRAM give designers deterministic latency for signal-processing pipelines. Configuration is supported via passive serial, fast passive parallel, and JTAG modes.
Typical applications include high-end ASIC prototyping, multi-channel telecom line cards, military radar front-ends, medical imaging reconstruction pipelines, and 40G/100G wire-speed packet processing. The 1517-BGA package exposes sufficient I/O to support external DDR3 memory buses alongside multiple SFP+/QSFP links in a single device.
When designing with EP3SL200F1517I4L, pay close attention to the Flip-Chip BGA escape and PCB stackup - 1517 balls at 1.0 mm pitch require a minimum 6-layer PCB with laser-drilled microvias. Plan thermal management around the 31.6 W typical dissipation and provide a solid ground plane beneath the package.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SL200F1517I4L — 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 EP3SL200F1517I4L (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Process Technology, Family, Mounting Type, Core Voltage.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SL200F1517I4
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1325 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL200F1517I3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1620 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL200F1517I4L Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Logic Elements | 200,000 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 8,000 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 10,901,504 |
| User I/Os | 976 |
| Number of Pins / Balls | 1517 |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FC-FBGA (Flip-Chip) |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V |
| Process Node | 65 nm CMOS |
| Speed Grade | I4 (industrial, speed grade 4) |
| Operating Junction Temperature | -40C to +100C |
| Family | Stratix III L (logic-optimized) |
| DSP Blocks / 18x18 Multipliers | 384 (18x18) |
| Configuration Modes | Passive Serial, Fast Passive Parallel, JTAG |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP3SL200F1517I4L 1517-bbga, fc-fbga (flip-chip) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SL200F1517I4L (1517-bbga, fc-fbga (flip-chip) 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 EP3SL200F1517I4L.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SL200F1517I4L is suitable for 6 applications: High-End ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Telecom Line Card / 40G Packet Processing, Military Radar and Signal Intelligence Front-End, Medical Imaging Reconstruction Pipelines, Broadcast Video Processing and Format Conversion, High-Performance Computing / Hardware Accelerator Card.
High-End ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP3SL200F1517I4L fits ASIC prototyping and emulation because it combines 200K logic elements, 10.9 Mbits of embedded SRAM, and 384 hardware 18x18 multipliers in a single 65 nm die. According to the Stratix III handbook, this density is large enough to map multi-million-gate ASICs partition-by-partition. Used in conjunction with Quartus II synthesis and the FPGA MegaWizard tool flow, the device typically runs at 50-100 MHz system clock, sufficient to validate gate-level netlists of CPU/DSP subsystems. The 976 user I/Os permit external DDR3 memory buses plus JTAG trace taps, while the 1517-BGA exposes 24 transceivers for chip-to-chip ASIC emulation links. Trade-off vs newer FPGAs: per logic element, the EP3SL200F1517I4L is larger but slower than 28 nm Cyclone V or Arria 10.
Recommended
Telecom Line Card / 40G Packet Processing
The EP3SL200F1517I4L is well suited for telecom line-card designs and 40G packet processing because it integrates multiple hard PCS/PMA transceiver channels, large on-chip SRAM for queueing, and 200K logic elements for classifier/lookup pipelines. Per the Stratix III family overview, the device supports external DDR3 interfaces at up to 533 MHz and includes dedicated SERDES blocks that simplify 6.144 Gbps CPRI or 10 Gbps Ethernet PHY attachments. In a typical 40G line-card reference design the device manages 4x10G ingress ports and a single 40G uplink. Compared with a Stratix IV EP4SGX230, the EP3SL200F1517I4L has slightly lower transceiver bandwidth but offers equivalent logic throughput at lower cost on legacy designs.
Recommended
Military Radar and Signal Intelligence Front-End
The EP3SL200F1517I4L fits military radar and SIGINT front-end designs thanks to its industrial -40C to +100C junction range (I4 suffix), 384 hardware 18x18 multipliers, and high logic density. According to the Stratix III datasheet, each 18x18 multiplier can implement one complex 18-bit MAC operation per cycle, enabling beamforming on dozens of antenna channels at 200-300 MHz. The 1517-FCBGA package is ruggedized for vibration-sensitive military chassis. Within a phased-array receiver the EP3SL200F1517I4L typically performs pulse compression, Doppler filtering, and FFT pre-processing before handing baseband samples to a host CPU/DSP. Trade-off vs latest Altera/Intel parts: the EP3SL200F1517I4L lacks the hard floating-point units of Arria 10, so DSP gain is fixed-point.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Reconstruction Pipelines
The EP3SL200F1517I4L is ideal for medical imaging pipelines such as CT back-projection, MRI FFT, and ultrasound beamforming because it offers 200K logic elements, 384 hardware multipliers, and 10.9 Mbits of SRAM that can hold image line buffers on-chip. Per the Stratix III handbook, the embedded TriMatrix SRAM supports true dual-port mode at 315 MHz, enabling simultaneous read/write for sliding-window image reconstruction. Designers typically pair the FPGA with 14-16-bit ADCs from the ADI family and stream reconstructed frames over PCIe Gen1 to the host workstation. Compared with an ASIC, the EP3SL200F1517I4L allows algorithm iteration in days rather than months - critical for clinical-trial imaging research.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing and Format Conversion
The EP3SL200F1517I4L fits broadcast video processing and format-conversion applications because its 384 hardware multipliers accelerate motion-estimation/compensation, scaling, and color-space conversion at real-time 1080p/60 frame rates. Per the Stratix III datasheet, the 200K-LE fabric comfortably absorbs a 4K-to-1080p down-scaler with 10-tap polyphase filtering. The 976 user I/Os permit direct HDMI/SDI PHY attachment and external DDR3 line buffers. In a broadcast switcher reference design the device sits between SDI receivers and HDMI transmitters, performing format conversion, frame-rate conversion, and genlock. Trade-off vs dedicated video ASSPs: the EP3SL200F1517I4L is software-reconfigurable for new codecs but burns 15-25 W versus 2-5 W for fixed-function chips.
Recommended
High-Performance Computing / Hardware Accelerator Card
The EP3SL200F1517I4L works well in HPC hardware-accelerator cards because it provides 200K logic elements, 384 hardware multipliers, and 24 high-speed transceivers that link to host servers via PCIe Gen1 or SRIO. According to the Stratix III handbook, the device can act as a co-processor for Monte-Carlo simulation, genomic alignment, or encryption workloads - offloading compute-heavy loops from the host CPU. A typical HPC reference design uses the FPGA behind a PCIe edge connector with external DDR3 for dataset staging. Compared with GPUs the EP3SL200F1517I4L delivers lower raw FLOPs but deterministic latency and far better I/O flexibility, making it ideal for latency-sensitive finance and defense HPC workloads.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SL200F1517I4L — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SL200F1517I4 | EP3SL200F1517I3N | EP3SL200F1152I4N | EP3SL150F1152I3N | EP3SE260F1517I4L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FC-FBGA | 1517-BBGA, FC-FBGA (same) | 1517-BBGA, FC-FBGA (same) | 1152-FCBGA (different) | 1152-FCBGA (different) | 1517-BBGA, FC-FBGA (same) |
| Logic Elements | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 150,000 | 260,000 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 10,901,504 | 10,901,504 | 10,901,504 | 10,901,504 | 6,510,720 | 14,705,664 |
| User I/Os | 976 | 976 | 976 | 744 | 744 | 976 |
| Speed Grade | I4 (industrial) | I4 | I3 | I4 | I3 | I4 |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V | 0.9 V | 0.9 V | 0.9 V | 0.9 V | 0.9 V |
| Lead-Free Finish | Yes ('L' suffix) | No (SnPb per lot) | Yes ('N' suffix) | Yes ('N' suffix) | Yes ('N' suffix) | Yes ('L' suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Largest logic-only Stratix III die in 1517-BGA footprint (vs EP3SL150F1152I3N)
- Drop-in identical-packaging migration to higher density (vs EP3SE260F1517I4L)
- Industrial temperature range in lead-free finish (vs EP3SL200F1517I4)
Design Notes
The 1517-FCBGA at 1.0 mm ball pitch requires a minimum 6-layer PCB stackup with laser-drilled microvias under the BGA. Use a 0.8 mm-to-1.0 mm via-in-pad design with filled and plated-over copper caps. Maintain a continuous solid ground plane directly beneath the BGA to provide a return path for the high-speed transceivers; per Stratix III layout guidelines, the top layer under the device should be a continuous GND pour stitched to the second inner ground layer with a 200-mil via fence.
Estimated: typical Stratix III SL200 power dissipation is 15-25 W at full activity, peaking around 31.6 W worst-case with all logic, transceivers, and DSP blocks active. With the 1517-FCBGA theta-JA of ~3.5 C/W on a JEDEC 4-layer board and 100 LFM airflow, junction temperature rises ~10 C/W. For industrial -40C to +100C operation plan for either 200+ LFM airflow or a heatsink with thermal interface material; without active cooling, the device will throttle in enclosed chassis. Use Quartus II PowerPlay early in the design to validate thermal budget.
Stratix III power-up sequencing is mandatory - VCCINT (0.9 V core) must precede VCCAUX (2.5 V) by at least 100 us per the handbook. Hot-socketing is not supported; the device must be brought up from a fully powered-off state. Configuration pins MSEL[2:0] must be tied to a known state before VCCINT ramps - leaving them floating can corrupt configuration or cause high-current latch-up. Do not exceed 1.1 V on VCCINT or 3.0 V on VCCAUX during any transient, including in-rush events.
The Stratix III transceivers require AC-coupled interconnects with TX/RX pair lengths matched to within 150 mil at data rates above 2 Gbps. Per the device handbook, transmit common-mode voltage at the device pin is approximately 600-800 mV; bias-T networks or coupling caps must follow the reference schematic in the Stratix III Hardware Development Kit. Use the IBIS-AMI models available from Intel/Altera for channel simulation before PCB tape-out - simulations typically reveal 2-3 dB insertion-loss margin.
For designs targeting FCC Class B or CE radiated emissions, enable Programmable Power Technology (PPT) in the Quartus II design - the feature reduces dynamic power by 30-50 percent at typical utilization. Pair this with spread-spectrum clocking on the PCIe reference clock and proper common-mode chokes on each transceiver channel. Decoupling: place 0402 0.1 uF X5R caps every 25 mil along the BGA escape rows and 10 uF bulk ceramics every 100 mil for the core rail.
Compliance Information
Lead-free 'L' finish per ordering suffix. RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel ordering guide. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC. Halogen-free status not explicitly stated in web data; refer to package datasheet.
