EP3SL340F1517I4 - Stratix III L FPGA, 337.5K LE, 1517-FBGA | Altera
MPN: EP3SL340F1517I4 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $16930.91 | $16,930.91 |
| 5 | $16000 | $80,000.00 |
| 10 | $15200 | $152,000.00 |
| 25 | $14500 | $362,500.00 |
| 100 | $13500 | $1,350,000.00 |
EP3SL340F1517I4 Overview
Background - what is an FPGA? A Field-Programmable Gate Array is a programmable logic device whose logic blocks, routing fabric, I/O cells, and on-die memory can be reconfigured after manufacture to implement arbitrary digital functions. FPGAs sit at the top of the programmable-logic hierarchy: ASIC < CPLD < FPGA (high-density) < SoC FPGA. Modern high-end FPGAs like the Stratix III L integrate hard IP for transceivers, DSP blocks, block RAM, and PCIe endpoints, bridging the gap between ASIC efficiency and programmable flexibility.
Key features include 337,500 logic elements (LEs), 18,822,144 bits (approximately 2.25 MB) of embedded memory, 976 maximum user I/O pins, integrated DSP blocks, and dedicated memory interface blocks that support external DDR3/QDRII+ memories at hundreds of MHz. Industrial temperature grade (-40 C to +100 C) is indicated by the 'I' suffix, and speed grade 4 is one of the fastest Stratix III device speed bins offered. The 1517-BBGA package uses flip-chip BGA construction with controlled-impedance traces, supporting high-speed serial transceivers up to several Gbps.
Architecturally, the Stratix III L device uses an adaptive logic module (ALM) structure that combines LUT and register resources into a single 8-input fracturable element, delivering higher effective logic density than previous-generation ALMs. This ALM plus the high transceiver count make the EP3SL340F1517I4 a strong fit for wireline backplane aggregation, broadcast video processing, and high-channel-count DSP pipelines.
Typical applications include high-end telecommunications line cards, ASIC prototyping, signal-processing baseband cards, test & measurement instrumentation, and military/aerospace image processing. The 976 user I/O and the large embedded memory also suit memory-intensive compute fabrics.
When designing with the EP3SL340F1517I4, plan PCB layout for the 1517-ball BGA with microvia stack-ups, follow the Quartus II power guidelines to estimate thermal dissipation, and respect the bank's VCCIO and VREF rules when mixing I/O standards. Most Stratix III designs are developed with Altera's Quartus II design suite (legacy 13.0 or earlier), since newer Quartus releases no longer include Stratix III device support.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, and design considerations not found in the standalone manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP3SL340F1517I4 — 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 EP3SL340F1517I4 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Embedded Memory Bits, Operating Temperature, Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP3SL340F1517I3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$2520 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL340F1517I3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$18900 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL340F1517C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$7044.96 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL340F1517C4LN
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$11200 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL340F1517C3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3750 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP3SL340F1517I4 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix III L |
| Manufacturer | Altera (now Intel PSG) |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 337,500 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 18,822,144 (approx. 2.25 Mbyte) |
| Maximum User I/O | 976 |
| LAB/CLB Count | 13,500 |
| Process Node | 40 nm |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (Flip-Chip BGA) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +100 C (Industrial) |
| Speed Grade | 4 |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 717 MHz |
EP3SL340F1517I4 1517-bbga, fcbga (flip-chip bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP3SL340F1517I4 (1517-bbga, fcbga (flip-chip 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 EP3SL340F1517I4.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP3SL340F1517I4 is suitable for 6 applications: High-End Telecommunications Line Card, ASIC Prototyping, Broadcast Video Processing, Test & Measurement Instrumentation, Military / Aerospace Image Processing, High-Performance DSP / Baseband Card.
High-End Telecommunications Line Card
The EP3SL340F1517I4's 337,500 logic elements and 18,822,144 embedded memory bits make it a strong fit for high-density telecom line cards. Its 976 user I/O pins give enough headroom for multi-channel SERDES lanes, framer backplanes, and fabric-to-fabric interconnect at the line card edge. The 717 MHz fabric clock and integrated hard IP for transceivers enable aggregation of 10 Gbps optical streams with deterministic latency. Compared to an ASIC flow, the FPGA design cuts mask charges while preserving hardware-level throughput - ideal for low-volume but feature-rich line cards in metro and long-haul equipment.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
With 337,500 LEs the EP3SL340F1517I4 serves as a high-capacity ASIC prototype target, emulating SoCs and large DSP ASICs before tape-out. Designers can partition a multi-million-gate ASIC across one or more Stratix III L FPGAs using Time-Borrowing pipelines and pin-multiplexing. The 18,822,144 bits of embedded memory let the FPGA mimic large register files and SRAM caches on-chip, removing external memory bottlenecks during verification cycles.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing
The combination of 337,500 LEs, 976 I/O, and integrated DSP blocks makes the EP3SL340F1517I4 well suited to multi-channel broadcast video pipelines: de-interlacing, scaling, frame-rate conversion, and color-space conversion at 3G-SDI / HD-SDI rates. The 1517-BBGA package supports controlled-impedance PCB traces for the parallel video bus, while 18,822,144 embedded memory bits absorb line buffers without external SRAM. Industrial temperature grade allows outdoor OB-van and head-end chassis deployment.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation
Test equipment vendors value the EP3SL340F1517I4 for protocol-aware logic analyzers, BERT, and arbitrary waveform generators. The 717 MHz maximum clock frequency supports fast parallel stimulus generation, while 976 I/O pins expose many channels for DUT probing. Designers can implement custom serial protocols (PCIe Gen2, SATA, USB 3.0 superset) in fabric, leveraging hard transceivers for the physical layer. The industrial temperature range allows bench-top and field-deployable instruments.
Recommended
Military / Aerospace Image Processing
The EP3SL340F1517I4's industrial temperature grade (-40 C to +100 C) and high logic density make it usable in ruggedized military and aerospace image processing subsystems - sensor fusion, SAR processing, and EO/IR pixel pre-processing. The 1517-BBGA FCBGA package has superior thermal and mechanical characteristics versus wire-bond BGAs, important for vibration and thermal-cycling environments. The large embedded memory array holds frame buffers on-die, reducing external memory and SWaP-C.
Recommended
High-Performance DSP / Baseband Card
The Stratix III L's hard DSP blocks combined with 337,500 LEs let the EP3SL340F1517I4 implement radar baseband, software-defined radio baseband, and channel-card DSP pipelines. The 976 user I/O can fan out to multi-antenna RF front-ends, while 18,822,144 embedded memory bits keep filter coefficients and ping-pong buffers on-die. Industrial temperature and speed grade 4 support both commercial base stations and ruggedized deployable systems.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP3SL340F1517I4 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP3SL340F1517I3N | EP3SL340F1517I3 | EP3SL340F1517C4N | EP3SL340F1517C4LN | EP3SL340F1517C3N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) | Altera (Intel PSG) |
| Logic Elements | 337,500 | 337,500 | 337,500 | 337,500 | 337,500 | 337,500 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 18,822,144 | 18,822,144 | 18,822,144 | 18,822,144 | 18,822,144 | 18,822,144 |
| Speed Grade | 4 (fastest) | 3 (slower -10%) | 3 (slower -10%) | 4 (same) | 4 (same) | 3 (slower -10%) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +100 C (Industrial) | -40 C to +100 C (same) | -40 C to +100 C (same) | 0 C to +85 C (Commercial) | 0 C to +85 C (Commercial) | 0 C to +85 C (Commercial) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade within Stratix III L family (vs EP3SL340F1517I3)
- Industrial temperature grade for rugged systems (vs EP3SL340F1517C4N)
- 337,500 LEs - the densest Stratix III L (vs EP3SL200F1517I4)
Design Notes
The 1517-ball FCBGA requires a high-density PCB stack-up: microvia-in-pad construction on at least the top layer, sequential lamination, and 1-2-1 or 1-2-2-1 layer count. Plan escape routing carefully because inner rows are not accessible without via-in-pad. Use the Altera (Intel) Stratix III pin connection guidelines to confirm whether each ball is power, ground, user I/O, or no-connect before laying out. A 1.0 mm or 1.27 mm pitch BGA escapes comfortably with 0.1 mm trace-and-space.
Estimated: a fully utilized EP3SL340F1517I4 with all 337,500 LEs toggling can exceed 15 W on-die; with the FCBGA package thermal resistance (theta_JA) of roughly 10-12 C/W for a properly designed 12-layer PCB, the junction-to-ambient temperature rise can be 150 C. Heatsink with forced-air cooling is mandatory at high toggle rates, and the PCB needs both top and bottom copper pours tied to the thermal pad balls. Use the Quartus II PowerPlay early power estimator before final layout.
Stratix III devices need a precise power-on sequence (VCCINT before VCCAUX/VCCPD, and 3.3V before 2.5V/1.8V I/O). Power sequencing failure is the most common root cause of EP3SL340 field returns. Also note that Quartus II 13.0 is the last release with Stratix III support; newer Quartus versions will refuse to compile designs targeting this part. Reusing legacy 13.0 toolchains on a modern 64-bit host requires the legacy 32-bit installer or a virtualized Windows environment.
Compliance Information
Compliance data not in verified web results. The 'N' suffix on related parts (e.g. EP3SL340F1517C4N) indicates lead-free finish per Altera naming convention; the I4 part itself does not carry N and may be SnPb finish - verify against the lot-specific material declaration before use in Pb-free assembly.
