EPF10K50EQC208-3 - FLEX 10KE 50K Gates FPGA | Intel | 208-PQFP
MPN: EPF10K50EQC208-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $32.4 | $324.00 |
| 100 | $26.1 | $2,610.00 |
| 500 | $21.75 | $10,875.00 |
| 1,000 | $18.2 | $18,200.00 |
EPF10K50EQC208-3 Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor integrated circuit whose digital logic function is defined after manufacturing by the end user. Architecturally, an FPGA sits within the broader hierarchy of programmable logic devices (PLDs), between simple Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) and high-end Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). Within the programmable logic family tree, FPGAs are subdivided by architecture into SRAM-based, antifuse-based, and Flash-based variants; the FLEX 10KE family belongs to the SRAM-based, volatile-configuration segment, requiring a configuration EPROM or controller to load the bitstream at every power-up.
The part number breaks down as follows: EPF10K = FLEX 10K family; 50 = 50K typical gates; E = Enhanced (10KE variant); Q = PQFP package; C = Commercial temperature grade (0 °C to +70 °C); 208 = 208 pins; -3 = speed grade. The device supports a core supply of 2.3 V to 2.7 V (2.5 V typical) with 3.3 V or 5.0 V tolerant I/O banks, a maximum internal frequency near 166.67 MHz, and 360 LABs (Logic Array Blocks). Each LAB contains 8 Logic Elements, providing efficient implementation of wide combinational and registered functions. The device is supplied in a 28 mm × 28 mm body, 208-BFQFP (also called PQFP) tray package.
Typical applications include bus-bridging ASIC prototyping, glue logic in telecom backplane designs, industrial control interfaces, and image-processing front ends. The rich EAB memory and four FastTrack interconnect rows make this device well suited to high-speed datapath pipelines.
When designing with this device, ensure your board hosts a configuration source (EPC1/EPC2 or a microcontroller) and plan I/O banking for mixed 3.3 V/5 V peripherals. For new designs, consider Cyclone or Cyclone II as modern, non-obsolete alternatives; the FLEX 10KE family is end-of-life.
Drop-in alternatives for EPF10K50EQC208-3 — 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 EPF10K50EQC208-3 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Core Supply Voltage, Package, Operating Temperature, Family, Series.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EPF10K50EQC208-3N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EPF10K100EQC208-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$19.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50EQC208-2
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EPF10K50EQC208-3N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EPF10K100EQC208-3N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EPF10K100EQC208-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$155.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50EQC208-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | FLEX 10KE (EPF10K50E) |
| Typical Gate Count | 50,000 gates |
| Logic Elements | 2,880 |
| Embedded Memory (EAB) | 40,960 bits |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 360 |
| User I/Os | 147 |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 166.67 MHz |
| Propagation Delay | 0.6 ns (per DigChip) |
| Core Supply Voltage | 2.3 V to 2.7 V (2.5 V typical) |
| I/O Supply Voltage | 3.3 V or 5.0 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0 °C to +70 °C (Commercial) |
| Package | 208-BFQFP (PQFP), 28 × 28 mm |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Configuration Method | SRAM, volatile (requires EPC boot device) |
| Process Technology | 0.22 µm CMOS, SRAM-based |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete (per Rocelec / Altera PCN history) |
EPF10K50EQC208-3 208-bfqfp (pqfp), 28 × 28 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EPF10K50EQC208-3 (208-bfqfp (pqfp), 28 × 28 mm 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 EPF10K50EQC208-3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EPF10K50EQC208-3 is suitable for 6 applications: ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Telecom Backplane Glue Logic, Industrial Control Interfaces, Image-Processing Front End, Datapath Co-Processor Offload, Legacy Avionics and Defense Upgrades.
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EPF10K50EQC208-3 fits ASIC prototyping and in-circuit emulation thanks to its 50K-gate capacity and 147 user I/Os, which let engineers map mid-complexity ASIC RTL into a real silicon target operating at up to 166.67 MHz. Compared with a CPLD, the FLEX 10KE's 360 LABs and 40,960-bit EAB memory allow realistic datapath and control-logic emulation, including wide register files and small FIFOs, while keeping signal integrity on the 208-PQFP board-level footprint. For tri-state emulation of bus-functional models, the device's bidirectional I/O buffers and FastTrack interconnect rows preserve cycle-accurate timing, making this part a long-time bridge between HDL design and ASIC tape-out.
Recommended
Telecom Backplane Glue Logic
In telecom backplane applications, the EPF10K50EQC208-3 serves as a programmable glue-logic bridge between legacy 5 V peripherals and modern 3.3 V ASICs, leveraging its mixed-voltage I/O bank structure and 147 user I/Os. The FastTrack continuous interconnect delivers predictable timing across clock domains, which is essential when fanning out 8 kHz framing pulses or HDB3-coded E1/T1 streams to multiple line-interface units. Operating at 2.5 V core with 3.3 V/5 V tolerant I/O eliminates external level shifters and reduces board complexity, while the 208-PQFP footprint enables double-sided assembly for dense shelf designs.
Recommended
Industrial Control Interfaces
The EPF10K50EQC208-3 is well-suited to industrial control interface cards — including Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), distributed I/O nodes, and motor-control encoder interfaces — because its 50K-gate density and 40,960-bit embedded array block memory can host multiple independent communication stacks such as Modbus RTU, CANopen, and PROFIBUS bridges concurrently. The 208-PQFP commercial 0 °C to +70 °C operating envelope is adequate for cabinet-mounted enclosures, and the device's JTAG support enables in-system programming for field upgrades. Compared with a discrete MCU, the FPGA delivers deterministic latency with zero software jitter — critical for closed-loop control loops running at sub-millisecond period.
Recommended
Image-Processing Front End
For image-processing front ends such as machine-vision camera link cards and surveillance DVR front panels, the EPF10K50EQC208-3 provides the pixel-rate bandwidth required to deskew, crop, and buffer Camera Link or ITU-R BT.656 video streams. The 2,880 logic elements and 360 LABs implement line buffers and Bayer demosaicing pipelines at video pixel clocks up to 166.67 MHz, while the 40,960 bits of EAB memory serve as small lookup tables for gamma correction or color-space conversion. Compared with a fixed-function ASIC, the FLEX 10KE lets engineers iterate on image-processing IP without re-spinning silicon, accelerating time to market.
Recommended
Datapath Co-Processor Offload
The EPF10K50EQC208-3 can offload compute-intensive datapath tasks — such as CRC generation, Reed-Solomon forward error correction, or DES/3DES encryption accelerators — from a host processor via its parallel bus interface. The 147 user I/Os provide ample bidirectional buses for 32-bit datapath plus control, and the 166.67 MHz core delivers multi-gigabit throughput on bit-manipulation loops. Designers typically place the FLEX 10KE between a PCI bridge ASIC and a DSP cluster, achieving 3-5× the throughput of a software-only implementation while freeing CPU cycles for application-layer processing.
Recommended
Legacy Avionics and Defense Upgrades
In legacy avionics and defense systems already fielded with FLEX 10KE designs, the EPF10K50EQC208-3 is the authentic drop-in part for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of 1553 bus bridges, radar timing controllers, and avionics display drivers. Because the FLEX 10KE design data, configuration bitstreams, and JTAG infrastructure are already field-qualified, the -3 commercial grade preserves full form-fit-function continuity. Compared with new FPGA families, this part avoids costly re-qualification and SWaP re-tuning — a key consideration for long-life-cycle platforms where original Altera-marked stock and authorized-distributor inventory are the only approved sources.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPF10K50EQC208-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPF10K50EQC208-3N | EPF10K100EQC208-3 | EPF10K50EQC208-2 | EPF10K100EQC208-3N | EPF10K100EQC208-2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Package | 208-PQFP (BFQFP) | 208-PQFP (same) | 208-PQFP (same) | 208-PQFP (same) | 208-PQFP (same) | 208-PQFP (same) |
| Typical Gates | 50,000 | 50,000 (same) | 100,000 (+100 %) | 50,000 (same) | 100,000 (+100 %) | 100,000 (+100 %) |
| Logic Elements | 2,880 | 2,880 (same) | 4,992 (+73 %) | 2,880 (same) | 4,992 (+73 %) | 4,992 (+73 %) |
| User I/Os | 147 | 147 (same) | 147 (same) | 147 (same) | 147 (same) | 147 (same) |
| Embedded Memory (EAB) | 40,960 bits | 40,960 bits (same) | 49,920 bits (+22 %) | 40,960 bits (same) | 49,920 bits (+22 %) | 49,920 bits (+22 %) |
| Speed Grade (Internal Max) | -3 (~166.67 MHz) | -3 (~166.67 MHz, same) | -3 (~166.67 MHz, same) | -2 (~125 MHz, slower) | -3N RoHS (~166.67 MHz, same) | -2 (~125 MHz, slower) |
| RoHS Compliance | Non-RoHS (SnPb) | RoHS (Pb-free) | Non-RoHS (SnPb) | Non-RoHS (SnPb) | RoHS (Pb-free) | Non-RoHS (SnPb) |
Key Differentiators
- Original Altera/Intel drop-in with 208-PQFP footprint (vs EPF10K100EQC208-3)
- Faster -3 speed grade vs -2 (vs EPF10K50EQC208-2)
- Non-RoHS for legacy / defense programs (vs EPF10K50EQC208-3N)
Design Notes
The FLEX 10KE is a SRAM-volatile FPGA: every power-up requires a configuration EPROM (EPC1/EPC2/EPC4/EPC8/EPC16) or microcontroller to load the bitstream via PS, PPS, or JTAG. Omitting the boot device leaves the FPGA in an undefined state with all I/Os tri-stated — a frequent integration error. Plan the nCONFIG/nSTATUS/CONF_DONE handshake chain in the schematic before laying out the PCB.
Provide a continuous ground plane under the 208-PQFP and place eight to sixteen 0.1 µF ceramic bypass capacitors distributed around the VCCINT and VCCIO pin groups. The 2.5 V core and 3.3 V/5 V I/O supply rails must be decoupled within 5 mm of their respective pins. Series ferrite beads between analog and digital supplies reduce simultaneous-switching-noise (SSN) coupling into clock-distribution networks.
Estimated: at 166.67 MHz with 50 % toggle density on 147 I/Os and 2.5 V VCCINT, the EPF10K50EQC208-3 dissipates roughly 0.7-1.0 W. With a typical 208-PQFP θJA near 35 °C/W, junction-to-ambient rise is approximately 25-35 °C above the 70 °C upper limit, which is acceptable in commercial environments but offers limited margin. Add 1 sq in of copper pour or forced-air cooling if your enclosure exceeds +50 °C ambient.
The 208-PQFP (28 × 28 mm, 0.5 mm pitch) demands a 4-layer PCB with 0.20 mm via-in-pad or dog-bone fan-out to break out the fine-pitch leads. Allocate dedicated signal layers for JTAG (TCK/TMS/TDI/TDO), configuration (DCLK/DATA0/nCONFIG/nSTATUS/CONF_DONE), and clock-distribution networks. The four user I/O banks of the FLEX 10KE must each receive their own VCCIO rail — do not bridge I/O bank supplies, as mixing 3.3 V and 5 V outputs in the same bank damages input buffers.
Compliance Information
Non-RoHS SnPb finish on the original EPF10K50EQC208-3; RoHS-compliant re-packaging available as EPF10K50EQC208-3N. Commercial 0 °C to +70 °C temperature grade — not AEC-Q100 qualified (industrial/automotive use -2 grade is not applicable; FLEX 10KE has no AEC-Q100 variant). REACH status compliant per Altera/Intel material declaration.
