EPF10K50VBI356-3N - 50K Gates, 356-BGA FLEX 10K FPGA | Altera
MPN: EPF10K50VBI356-3N ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $78.5 | $78.50 |
| 10 | $72.3 | $723.00 |
| 100 | $64.95 | $6,495.00 |
| 250 | $59.1 | $14,775.00 |
| 500 | $54.75 | $27,375.00 |
EPF10K50VBI356-3N Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a type of programmable logic device (PLD) that integrates configurable logic blocks (LBs/LABs), routing interconnects, and I/O cells onto a single die. Designers describe logic with HDL (VHDL/Verilog) and synthesize it onto the device using the vendor toolchain (Quartus/MAX+PLUS II). FPGAs sit between discrete logic ICs (74-series) and fixed ASICs: unlike 74HC/74LVT glue logic, FPGAs are re-programmable in-circuit; unlike ASICs, no mask set or NRE is required. Within the programmable logic hierarchy: PLD -> CPLD -> FPGA, and within the FPGA hierarchy: SRAM-based FPGA -> LUT-based logic fabric -> island-style architecture (used by FLEX 10K).
Key features of the EPF10K50VBI356-3N include 50 K typical gates (around 23 K usable logic gates), 2,880 logic elements, 20,480 bits of embedded SRAM distributed across EABs, 360 LABs, and 274 user I/O pins. MultiVolt I/O supports interfacing with 5.0 V, 3.3 V, and 2.5 V devices. The device is in-system programmable (ISP) via JTAG (IEEE 1149.1 Boundary-Scan) using serial configuration, making it suitable for field-upgradeable designs.
Typical applications for the EPF10K50VBI356-3N include telecommunications line cards, industrial control glue logic, bus-interface bridges (PCI, ISA, VME), and prototype/ASIC emulation. The 356-BGA package provides ample signal integrity for high-density parallel buses while keeping the board footprint manageable. Designers should consult the Altera FLEX 10K Device Handbook for timing models, I/O standards, and configuration schemes. Note: this device is mature/legacy silicon (introduced circa 1998-2000) and is now in the End-of-Life (EOL) phase - sourcing from authorized distributors and verifying date codes is recommended for new production builds.
Drop-in alternatives for EPF10K50VBI356-3N — 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 EPF10K50VBI356-3N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Speed Grade, Package, Process Technology, Mounting Type, Family.
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View Datasheet →EPF10K50VBI356-3N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | FLEX 10K |
| Series | FLEX-10K® |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 2880 |
| Total RAM Bits | 20480 |
| Number of LABs/CLBs | 360 |
| Number of User I/O | 274 |
| Number of Gates (typical) | 50000 |
| Process Technology | 0.42 µm CMOS SRAM |
| Core Supply Voltage | 3.3 V |
| Operating Temperature (industrial) | -40 °C to +85 °C |
| Speed Grade | -3 (commercial/industrial timing) |
| Package Type | 356-LBGA (Ball Grid Array, low-profile) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| In-System Programmable | Yes (JTAG IEEE 1149.1) |
| Lead-Free (Pb-Free) | Yes (suffix "N") |
EPF10K50VBI356-3N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C1 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 3.3 V |
| Pin C2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin D1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin D2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin E1 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage (3.3 V or 2.5 V) |
| Pin E2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 2) |
| Pin F1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin F2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin G1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin G2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin H1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 3) |
| Pin H2 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 3.3 V |
| Pin J1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin J2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin K1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 4) |
| Pin K2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin L1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin L2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin M1 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage (3.3 V or 2.5 V) |
| Pin M2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin N1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 5) |
| Pin N2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin P1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin P2 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 3.3 V |
| Pin R1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 6) |
| Pin R2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin T1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin T2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin U1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin U2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 7) |
| Pin V1 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage (3.3 V or 2.5 V) |
| Pin V2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin W1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin W2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin Y1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin Y2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin AA1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 8) |
| Pin AA2 | TDI — JTAG Test Data In (IEEE 1149.1) |
| Pin AB1 | TMS — JTAG Test Mode Select |
| Pin AB2 | TCK — JTAG Test Clock |
| Pin AC1 | TDO — JTAG Test Data Out |
| Pin AC2 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active-low) |
| Pin AD1 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active-low) |
| Pin AD2 | DCLK — Configuration clock |
| Pin AE1 | DATA0 — Configuration data input (bit 0) |
| Pin AE2 | CONF_DONE — Configuration done (active-high) |
| Pin AF1 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 3.3 V |
| Pin AF2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
Typical Applications
EPF10K50VBI356-3N is suitable for 7 applications: Telecommunications Line-Card Glue Logic, Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Legacy PCI / VME / ISA Bus Bridges, ASIC Prototyping and Logic Emulation, Military / Aerospace Avionics (Legacy Systems), Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End, Display & Video Processing Backplanes.
Telecommunications Line-Card Glue Logic
The EPF10K50VBI356-3N fits telecom line cards as programmable glue logic bridging backplane buses (PCI, H.110/CT Bus) to framer/switch ASICs, leveraging its 274 user I/Os for high-density parallel interfacing. With 50K gates and 360 LABs, the device easily absorbs bus-arbiter, time-slot-management, and alarm-monitoring functions without an external CPLD array. The 3.3 V core and MultiVolt I/O (5.0 V/3.3 V/2.5 V) allow direct connection to legacy TDM buses while maintaining modern low-power rails. Industrial temperature (-40C to +85C) makes it suitable for central-office and outdoor enclosures. In legacy NEBS-compliant systems still in production, this part provides field-upgradeable logic via JTAG, eliminating board swap for bug fixes.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
Factory automation controllers use the EPF10K50VBI356-3N for deterministic glue logic between PLC CPUs, motor-control DSPs, and high-voltage driver stages. The 356-LBGA package delivers 274 I/Os in a compact footprint, enough to consolidate multiple 74LVC244/245 buffers and discrete logic into one programmable device. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +85C) and lead-free ball finish satisfy factory-floor environmental and RoHS requirements. JTAG in-system programming allows field firmware updates on deployed equipment without de-soldering. The 20 Kb of embedded SRAM across EABs provides on-chip FIFO buffering for high-speed encoder feedback and quadrature decoding, reducing external SRAM requirements in tight motion-control loops.
Recommended
Legacy PCI / VME / ISA Bus Bridges
Industrial embedded systems running VMEbus, PCI, or ISA backplanes frequently use the EPF10K50VBI356-3N as a bridge between legacy parallel buses and modern peripherals. The 50K-gate capacity easily implements bus-master DMA engines, address-decoding, and interrupt controllers in a single device, replacing multiple discrete PAL/GAL and 74FCT logic chips. With 5.0 V-tolerant MultiVolt I/O, the FPGA interfaces directly to legacy PCI 5 V signaling without level shifters, simplifying board layout. Industrial temperature grade and 360 LABs provide ample timing margin for 33 MHz PCI operation. As production volumes decline, designers maintain stock of this part to support long-life industrial control systems still in field service.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Logic Emulation
The EPF10K50VBI356-3N has historically been used as a multi-FPGA ASIC prototyping platform, where each device emulates a partition of a large ASIC. With 50K gates and 360 LABs, the part offers sufficient logic density for medium-complexity ASIC partitions while keeping routing congestion manageable. The JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) interface enables multi-FPGA chain programming, and the 274 user I/Os support inter-FPGA interconnect traces for partition-to-partition communication. Designers commonly run Quartus or MAX+PLUS II synthesis flows on this device. For modern prototyping flows, the part has been superseded by larger Cyclone IV/V or Stratix devices, but remains in use at universities and small engineering teams.
Recommended
Military / Aerospace Avionics (Legacy Systems)
Long-lifecycle avionics and military platforms use the EPF10K50VBI356-3N for mission-critical glue logic where redesign certification costs are prohibitive. The 356-LBGA package offers mechanical robustness for vibration-prone environments, and the 3.3 V core minimizes thermal load in sealed enclosures. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +85C) accommodates avionics bay operating ranges. Note: the part is NOT QML-qualified or MIL-PRF-38535 certified - verify with your contract manufacturer whether commercial-grade silicon is acceptable for your specific platform. The SRAM-based architecture allows field reconfigurability for software-defined-radio (SDR) and electronic-warfare (EW) applications where mission parameters change post-deployment.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End
Bench-top and rack-mounted test instruments (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, BERT testers) historically use the EPF10K50VBI356-3N for high-speed parallel data acquisition front-ends. The 50K-gate density and 360 LABs support custom trigger sequencers, pattern generators, and channel-synchronization logic, while 20 Kb of embedded RAM captures pre-trigger sample buffers. MultiVolt I/O interfaces directly to 5 V ECL/PECL comparators and 3.3 V ADCs without level translation, simplifying analog-front-end design. The 356-BGA package provides excellent signal integrity for the 274 I/Os running at 100+ MHz internal rates. The in-system programmable JTAG interface allows field firmware updates to add new measurement modes without returning instruments to the factory for recalibration.
Recommended
Display & Video Processing Backplanes
Industrial display controllers and video-wall processors use the EPF10K50VBI356-3N as a high-density bridge between video sources (DVI/HDMI receivers, camera sensors) and display drivers (LVDS transmitters). The 274 user I/Os comfortably handle 24-bit color interfaces plus control signals for multiple displays, while the 360 LABs absorb timing-controller logic, color-space conversion, and frame-buffer arbitration. The 20 Kb of embedded SRAM serves as line-buffer memory for scaling and de-interlacing operations, reducing external memory requirements. The 5 V-tolerant MultiVolt I/O supports legacy flat-panel interfaces. For modern designs with HDMI 2.0+ bandwidth, migrate to Cyclone V or Cyclone 10 GX with hard-core transceivers.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPF10K50VBI356-3N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPF10K50VBI356-3 | EPF10K50VBC356-3N | EPF10K50VBC356-3 | EPF10K50VBC356-4 | EPF10K50VBC356-2N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 356-LBGA | 356-LBGA (same) | 356-LBGA (same) | 356-LBGA (same) | 356-LBGA (same) | 356-LBGA (same) |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Family / Series | FLEX 10K | FLEX 10K | FLEX 10K | FLEX 10K | FLEX 10K | FLEX 10K |
| Logic Cells | 2880 | 2880 | 2880 | 2880 | 2880 | 2880 |
| Gates (typical) | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 |
| Core Voltage | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V | 3.3 V |
| Speed Grade | -3 | -3 (same) | -3 (same) | -3 (same) | -4 (faster) | -2 (slower) |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +85C) | Industrial (same) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Ball Finish (Pb-free) | Yes (N suffix) | No (SnPb) | Yes (N suffix) | No (SnPb) | No (SnPb) | Yes (N suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade with lead-free ball finish (vs EPF10K50VBC356-3N)
- RoHS-compliant lead-free ball finish (vs EPF10K50VBI356-3)
- -3 speed grade with proven Quartus II toolchain support (vs EPF10K50VBC356-2N (slower speed grade))
Design Notes
The EPF10K50VBI356-3N requires a clean 3.3 V core supply (VCCINT) plus per-bank VCCIO rails for MultiVolt I/O support (3.3 V or 2.5 V depending on interface standards). Decouple each VCCINT/VCCIO ball with a 0.1 µF ceramic capacitor placed within 5 mm of the BGA pad, and add bulk decoupling (10-47 µF tantalum or polymer) near the device. For 5 V interface designs, set VCCIO to 3.3 V and rely on the FLEX 10K's 5 V-tolerant input receivers - never drive 5 V into a VCCIO=2.5 V bank or latch-up will occur. Estimated: ICCINT ≈ 50-150 mA static plus dynamic current scaling with toggle rate; verify with actual design utilization in Quartus PowerPlay.
The 356-LBGA package has a thermal resistance θJA of approximately 15-20 °C/W with a standard 4-layer PCB and adequate thermal vias in the BGA land pattern. For high-utilization designs (>70% logic cell usage, >50 MHz toggle rates), thermal analysis is recommended. Place thermal via arrays under the BGA (0.3 mm drill, 0.6 mm pitch, 16+ vias in a 4x4 grid minimum) connecting to internal ground planes for heat spreading. Avoid placing the FPGA directly above heat-generating components (VRMs, power inductors) without an intervening ground plane. Industrial temperature grade operation (-40 °C to +85 °C) requires junction temperature to remain below 100 °C in worst-case ambient.
The 356-LBGA package uses a 1.27 mm ball pitch - design PCB land pads with NSMD (Non-Solder Mask Defined) geometry, 0.55 mm pad diameter, with solder mask openings of 0.65 mm for reliable reflow. Use 0.2-0.25 mm via-in-pad (filled and capped) for the inner rows to break out all signal layers; for outer rows, traditional dog-bone fan-out is acceptable. Match all 50 Ω controlled-impedance traces for clock and high-speed I/O. Keep JTAG chain traces short (<50 mm) and place a JTAG header on the board edge for boundary-scan test access. Use 4-6 mil trace/space rules to fan out the dense BGA; high-density interconnect (HDI) with micro-vias is recommended.
Do not apply power to VCCINT before VCCIO - Altera FLEX 10K devices require a specific power-sequencing order (typically VCCIO → VCCINT → configuration) to avoid bus-contention damage. Do not drive 5 V signals into any I/O bank unless that bank's VCCIO is set to 3.3 V (MultiVolt 5 V tolerance) - connecting 5 V to a 2.5 V VCCIO bank causes permanent latch-up. Do not exceed JTAG TCK frequencies above 16 MHz without checking TDO setup timing - long JTAG chains accumulate propagation delay. Always verify configuration file CRC at startup using the CONF_DONE error-detection feature to catch bitstream corruption from flash memory wear.
For high-speed (>50 MHz) outputs, enable Altera's slew-rate control and programmable drive-strength settings in MAX+PLUS II / Quartus to reduce SSO (Simultaneous Switching Output) noise. Place 33 Ω series-termination resistors at the FPGA outputs for LVTTL/LVCMOS signals driving traces longer than 50 mm to dampen reflections. For LVDS outputs (if your design uses them), maintain 100 Ω differential pair impedance with matched lengths (±0.5 mm tolerance) and keep pair-to-pair skew within 100 ps. Use ground-fill stitching vias every 25 mm along high-speed traces to maintain a continuous return-current path. The MultiVolt I/O banks should each have their own VCCIO plane cutout to prevent cross-bank noise coupling.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel product page (N suffix = Pb-free ball finish). REACH compliance confirmed by Intel/PSG. AEC-Q100 not applicable (industrial/consumer FPGA, not automotive-qualified). Halogen-free status unknown for legacy 0.42 µm process - consult Intel for current declarations. Conflict-minerals declaration on file with Intel PSG.
