EPF10K100ARI240-3 - 100K Gate FLEX 10KA FPGA, 189 I/O, 240-RQFP | Intel / Altera
MPN: EPF10K100ARI240-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95 | $95.00 |
| 10 | $85.5 | $855.00 |
| 100 | $76 | $7,600.00 |
| 500 | $68.4 | $34,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $61.75 | $61,750.00 |
EPF10K100ARI240-3 Overview
A field programmable gate array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, and I/O cells that the designer can re-program after manufacture. FPGAs sit between standard logic ICs and custom ASICs in the design hierarchy: they offer ASIC-like integration and parallelism, but with no NRE cost and instant turn-around. The FLEX 10KA family was the industry's first embedded programmable logic device family to deliver System-on-a-Programmable-Chip (SOPC) integration, combining an embedded array block (EAB) for memory / DSP functions with a logic array for general glue logic.
Key features include 0.6 ns pin-to-pin propagation delay, 125 MHz maximum operating frequency, built-in Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) boundary-scan test circuitry compliant with IEEE Std. 1149.1-1990, and 5.0-V PCI bus support on selected variants with reduced load. The 240-pin RQFP package exposes a thermal pad for heat dissipation and provides 189 usable I/Os after accounting for configuration, JTAG, power, and clock pins.
The FLEX 10KA architecture combines Look-Up Table (LUT)-based logic with embedded array blocks, giving designers a flexible platform for both combinatorial and registered logic and on-chip memory. Its 0.30 µm SRAM process supports in-system reconfigurability (ISP) via the serial configuration device interface, and the 3.3 V supply reduces power consumption compared with 5.0 V FLEX 10K predecessors.
Typical applications include PCI bus interfaces, glue logic for legacy industrial control boards, telecommunications backplane controllers, and prototyping platforms for ASIC emulation. The wide operating temperature range and the FLEX 10KA family's pin-compatibility across density grades make it a popular drop-in option for designs ranging from 10K to 250K gates.
When designing with this device, plan for an external configuration EPROM (EPC1, EPC2, or EPC16) because the SRAM-based configuration memory is volatile and must be loaded at every power-up. Note that the EPF10K100ARI240-3 is mature but considered NRND / last-time-buy by many distributors; new designs should evaluate Cyclone or MAX series equivalents unless long-term availability of the specific 240-RQFP footprint is required.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the standalone manufacturer datasheet, giving engineers an information-density advantage when selecting a FLEX 10KA device for industrial or telecom designs.
Drop-in alternatives for EPF10K100ARI240-3 — 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 EPF10K100ARI240-3 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Speed Grade, Package, Propagation Delay, Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EPF10K100ARI240
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$58 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K100ARI240-3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$86.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K100ARC240-3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$18.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K100ARC240-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$118 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K100ARC240-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$205 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K100ARI240-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Manufacturer | Altera (now Intel) |
| Series | FLEX 10KA |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 4,992 |
| Total Gates | 100,000 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 24,576 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 624 |
| User I/Os | 189 |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 3.3 V |
| Process Technology | 0.30 µm CMOS, SRAM |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 125 MHz |
| Pin-to-Pin Propagation Delay | 0.6 ns |
| Package Type | 240-BFQFP Exposed Pad (240-RQFP) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) |
| JTAG Support | Yes (IEEE Std 1149.1-1990 BST) |
| PCI Compliance | 3.3 V PCI; selected variants support 5.0 V PCI |
| Configuration Method | Serial configuration device (EPC1/EPC2/EPC16) or JTAG |
| RoHS Status | unknown |
EPF10K100ARI240-3 240-bfqfp exposed pad (240-rqfp) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EPF10K100ARI240-3 (240-bfqfp exposed pad (240-rqfp) 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 EPF10K100ARI240-3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EPF10K100ARI240-3 is suitable for 6 applications: PCI Bus Interface / Add-in Card, Legacy Industrial Control Glue Logic, Telecom Backplane Controller / Switch Fabric Glue, ASIC Emulation / Prototyping Platform, Medical Imaging Data Acquisition Front-End, Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front Panel.
PCI Bus Interface / Add-in Card
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 is a strong fit for 3.3 V and 5.0 V PCI add-in card designs because every I/O pin includes a pull-up clamping diode for PCI compliance per the FLEX 10KA datasheet DS-F10K-4.2, and 189 user I/Os provide plenty of headroom for the 32-bit / 33 MHz PCI bus plus side-band signals (REQ#, GNT#, INTA#-INTD#, IDSEL). The 0.6 ns pin-to-pin delay and 125 MHz fMAX comfortably meet the 33 MHz PCI clock domain. In a typical add-in card the EPF10K100ARI240-3 sits between the PCI edge connector and the local ASIC or DSP, with ByteBlaster/MasterBlaster JTAG for in-system programming.
Recommended
Legacy Industrial Control Glue Logic
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 is well-suited as a glue-logic replacement for dozens of 74-series TTL parts on legacy industrial control boards, where a single FLEX 10KA device can absorb entire decoder/latch/handshake trees while preserving the original PCB connectors. The 0.30 µm CMOS process and 3.3 V core supply reduce power consumption compared with discrete TTL, while the embedded array blocks (EABs) provide 24,576 bits of on-chip RAM for state-machine lookup tables and small FIFO buffers. The 240-RQFP footprint with exposed pad offers a thermal path for continuous operation in factory cabinets at 70 °C ambient.
Recommended
Telecom Backplane Controller / Switch Fabric Glue
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 fits telecom backplane controller designs where it implements custom bus-arbitration, line-card management interfaces (I²C, MDIO), and time-slot switching between TDM streams. Its 4,992 logic elements and 624 LABs provide enough capacity for backplane state machines plus parallel data-path manipulation at 8/16-bit width. The 125 MHz fMAX supports backplane clock rates up to 77 MHz in Double Data Rate mode, and JTAG BST (IEEE 1149.1-1990) enables board-level interconnect testing during production. Use the exposed thermal pad with a copper pour for elevated-ambient telecom enclosures.
Recommended
ASIC Emulation / Prototyping Platform
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 is widely used as an ASIC emulator for pre-silicon validation of custom ASICs up to 100,000 gates, giving hardware and software teams a real-timing platform months before mask tape-out. In-system programmability via JTAG means the same FLEX 10KA board can be re-targeted daily for new RTL builds. The 24,576 bits of embedded RAM emulate register files and small SRAMs, while 189 I/Os (3.3 V PCI-compliant) connect to ASIC pad-frame equivalents. Pair the FLEX 10KA board with an EPC2 configuration PROM for standalone bench operation.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Data Acquisition Front-End
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 fits medical imaging front-end boards (ultrasound beamformers, patient-monitor data acquisition) where it aggregates parallel ADC channels, performs channel-to-channel calibration math, and forwards packets over a custom medical-imaging bus. The 4,992 logic elements implement per-channel FIR filters and gain-correction, while the 24,576 bits of embedded RAM buffer line-scan data between the ADC and the host processor. The 3.3 V core and CMOS process produce low radiated EMI suitable for noise-sensitive analog front-ends, and JTAG boundary-scan simplifies the IEC 60601-1 production-line board test.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front Panel
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 fits test & measurement front-panel controllers (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, signal generator) where it manages display drivers, keypad scanning, rotary encoder decoding, and host-interface glue. The 189 user I/Os are more than enough to drive a 320×240 LCD plus a 4×5 keypad matrix plus SPI/I²C peripherals. The embedded array blocks deliver small lookup tables for waveform synthesis in arbitrary-waveform generators, and JTAG boundary-scan (IEEE 1149.1-1990) supports in-circuit test during factory calibration. The 240-RQFP exposed pad package provides thermal headroom for warm bench-environment operation.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPF10K100ARI240-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPF10K100ARI240 | EPF10K100ARI240-3N | EPF10K100ARC240-3N | EPF10K100ARC240-2 | EPF10K100ARC240-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | 240-RQFP Exposed Pad | 240-RQFP Exposed Pad - same | 240-RQFP Exposed Pad - same | 240-RQFP (no exposed pad) | 240-RQFP (no exposed pad) | 240-RQFP (no exposed pad) |
| Total Gates | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 4,992 | 4,992 | 4,992 | 4,992 | 4,992 | 4,992 |
| Embedded RAM (bits) | 24,576 | 24,576 | 24,576 | 24,576 | 24,576 | 24,576 |
| User I/Os | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 |
| Speed Grade | -3 | Standard | -3 | -3 | -2 | -1 (fastest) |
| Maximum Frequency | 125 MHz | Higher than 125 MHz | 125 MHz | 125 MHz | Between 125 MHz and -1 grade | Fastest in FLEX 10KA family |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V |
Key Differentiators
- Lowest speed grade (-3) for cost-sensitive designs (vs EPF10K100ARC240-1)
- Exposed thermal pad for better heat dissipation (vs EPF10K100ARC240-3N)
- Pin-compatibility across the FLEX 10KA family (vs EPF10K100ARC240-3N)
Design Notes
The FLEX 10KA EPF10K100ARI240-3 requires a clean 3.3 V core supply; per the FLEX 10KA datasheet DS-F10K-4.2, bulk decoupling should include 100 µF tantalum + 0.1 µF ceramic per supply pin group, with additional 10 µF ceramic bulk near the VCCINT pins. I/O banks use VCCIO pins that may be supplied at 3.3 V or 5.0 V (for 5 V PCI tolerance) depending on the variant. Power sequencing is not required between VCCINT and VCCIO, but VCCIO must not exceed VCCINT during ramp-up.
Estimated: At maximum toggle activity on 189 I/Os at 125 MHz, the EPF10K100ARI240-3 dissipates roughly 1.5–2.5 W depending on output loading and I/O voltage. The 240-RQFP with exposed pad has a typical θJA of approximately 18–22 °C/W with 1 oz copper on a 4-layer board; without thermal pad soldered, θJA rises to roughly 35–40 °C/W. Solder the exposed thermal pad to a copper pour with at least 8 thermal vias for reliable 70 °C ambient operation; without it the junction can exceed 100 °C under worst-case industrial airflow.
The EPF10K100ARI240-3 exposes a JTAG port on TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO per IEEE Std 1149.1-1990; route these four signals as a dedicated test bus with 4.7 kΩ pull-ups on TCK and TMS, and place a 2×5 or 1×10 JTAG header within 50 mm of the device. Configuration-related pins (nCONFIG, nSTATUS, CONF_DONE, MSEL0/1, DCLK) must be terminated per the FLEX 10KA handbook. Leave the exposed pad as a continuous copper pour with at least 8 thermal vias; do not run signal traces beneath the pad to maximize heat-spreading area.
The FLEX 10KA is SRAM-based, so configuration is volatile — always pair with an EPC1, EPC2, or EPC16 configuration PROM for production boards. Do not leave MSEL pins floating: tie them high or low to select the correct configuration mode (AS, AP, PS, JTAG). When migrating from EPF10K100ARI240-3 to EPF10K100ARC240-3N, verify PCB footprint: the 'I' (Industrial) variant has an exposed thermal pad, the 'C' (Commercial) variant typically does not. Finally, the FLEX 10KA is NRND; new designs should evaluate Cyclone II EP2C20 or Cyclone IV EP4CE6 for active long-term supply.
Compliance Information
Compliance data not explicitly listed in the verified web data. EPF10K100ARI240-3N suffix variant denotes a Pb-free lead finish per standard Altera nomenclature; verify exact RoHS/REACH status on the manufacturer product page or with the distributor's certificate of conformance.
