EPF10K50VQC240-3 - 50K Gate FLEX 10K FPGA, 240-PQFP | Intel / Altera
MPN: EPF10K50VQC240-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $32.4 | $324.00 |
| 100 | $26.95 | $2,695.00 |
| 250 | $23.8 | $5,950.00 |
| 500 | $21.5 | $10,750.00 |
EPF10K50VQC240-3 Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory arrays, and programmable interconnect, allowing hardware designers to implement custom digital logic without the cost and lead time of ASIC fabrication. The FLEX 10K family specifically pioneered the embedded array block (EAB) architecture, combining look-up-table logic with on-chip RAM/ROM blocks to enable System-on-a-Programmable-Chip (SOPC) designs that integrate memory and logic on a single die. Within the broader taxonomy, an FPGA sits above CPLDs and below ASICs in design flexibility and density.
Key features of the EPF10K50VQC240-3 include 189 programmable I/Os supporting multiple I/O standards, 360 LABs with fast interconnect, built-in low-skew clock distribution trees, FastTrack Interconnect for predictable timing closure, and tri-state emulation for bus-oriented designs. The device supports 100% functional testing before shipment, in-system programmability via SRAM configuration cells, and JTAG boundary-scan support. The -3 speed grade positions this part in the mid-speed tier of the FLEX 10K lineup, trading maximum Fmax for a more accessible price point.
Typical applications span telecommunications line cards, industrial control and instrumentation, glue logic replacement, custom interface bridging (PCI, ISA, proprietary buses), and legacy system upgrades where a programmable solution is needed to consolidate discrete logic. The 189 I/O count makes it suitable for mid-density bus-oriented designs. When designing with this part, ensure your configuration memory interface (EPC configuration device or microcontroller) is compatible with the 3.3 V VCCINT supply and that the Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II toolchain is selected, as this FLEX 10K device is in the mature Altera legacy flow.
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 is widely available in the distribution channel but should be considered for legacy maintenance designs given its NRND/EOL trajectory; long-term availability should be verified before new design-in. This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from the same FLEX 10K family, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EPF10K50VQC240-3 — 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 EPF10K50VQC240-3 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Process Technology, Speed Grade, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EPF10K50VQC240-2
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$28.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50VQC240-1
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$55.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50VQC240-3N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$49.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50SQC240-3N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$60 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50EQC240-3
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$21 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K30AQC240-3
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$16.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K130EQC240-3
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$105 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF10K50VQC240-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | FLEX 10K |
| Series | EPF10K50 |
| Typical Gates | 50,000 |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 2,880 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 360 |
| User I/Os | 189 |
| Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 3.3 V |
| Process Technology | 0.42 µm CMOS |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 125 MHz |
| Propagation Delay (tpd) | 0.6 ns |
| Package Type | 240-pin PQFP (Plastic Quad Flat Pack) |
| Package Code | FQFP-240 |
| Operating Temperature | 0 °C to +70 °C (Commercial) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Configuration Method | SRAM-based, requires external EPC device or MCU |
| Speed Grade | -3 (mid-tier) |
EPF10K50VQC240-3 Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank assignment per datasheet) |
| Pin 2 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 3 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 4 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 5 | VCCINT — 3.3 V core supply voltage |
| Pin 6 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 7 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 8 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 9 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 10 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 11 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage |
| Pin 12 | GND — Ground |
| Pin 13 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 14 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 15 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 16 | I/O — User I/O pin |
| Pin 17 | TDI — JTAG Test Data In |
| Pin 18 | TMS — JTAG Test Mode Select |
| Pin 19 | TCK — JTAG Test Clock |
| Pin 20 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (open-drain) |
| Pin 240 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active-low) |
| Pin 239 | CONF_DONE — Configuration complete (open-drain) |
| Pin 238 | DCLK — Configuration clock input |
| Pin 237 | DATA0 — Configuration data input (bit 0) |
Typical Applications
EPF10K50VQC240-3 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunications Line Cards, Industrial Control and Instrumentation, Custom Interface Bridging (PCI, ISA, Proprietary Buses), Legacy System Upgrades and Form-Fit Replacements, Glue Logic Consolidation, Prototyping and Education Platforms.
Telecommunications Line Cards
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 fits telecommunications line card applications because its 189 user I/O pins, 360 LABs, and embedded array blocks (EABs) provide sufficient logic density and on-chip RAM to implement custom glue logic, framer interfaces, and protocol adaptation between network processors and physical layer transceivers. Its 50K-gate capacity allows consolidation of multiple discrete PAL/GAL devices plus a small CPLD into one programmable device, simplifying PCB layout. The -3 speed grade at 125 MHz Fmax is adequate for T1/E1 data rates and mid-speed serial interface bridging. With 189 I/Os, the design can connect directly to a parallel bus on the backplane without external buffering.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Instrumentation
In industrial control and instrumentation, the EPF10K50VQC240-3 provides 2,880 logic cells and 360 LABs to integrate motor control state machines, ADC/DAC interface logic, encoder decoding, and HMI glue logic into one device. The commercial 0 °C to +70 °C temperature range covers most factory-floor enclosures. The EABs can be configured as dual-port RAM or ROM, allowing direct implementation of lookup tables for sensor linearization and PID control law constants. With 189 I/Os, the part supports multiple isolated SPI/UART/I2C peripherals concurrently, replacing 3-5 discrete 74-series logic ICs and a small CPLD on the same board.
Recommended
Custom Interface Bridging (PCI, ISA, Proprietary Buses)
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 is a strong fit for legacy bus bridging designs, where it can implement a PCI target or initiator interface plus a custom proprietary bus master/slave within the same 50K-gate budget. The 189 I/O count supports full 32-bit PCI plus address/data multiplexing, while the EABs serve as FIFO buffers between bus domains. The 125 MHz Fmax at -3 grade is sufficient for 33 MHz PCI compliance with margin. For designs needing DMA scatter-gather, the 360 LABs can host the descriptor engine without external logic, reducing board complexity.
Recommended
Legacy System Upgrades and Form-Fit Replacements
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 is widely deployed as a form-fit-function replacement in legacy systems where the original logic was implemented across discrete 74-series TTL/CMOS plus PLDs. With 2,880 logic cells, 189 I/Os, and 360 LABs, it can absorb the equivalent of 30-50 standard logic ICs, reducing PCB complexity and improving reliability. The 240-pin PQFP is a widely supported socketed package, easing field replacement. The -3 speed grade preserves existing timing margins for designs that were validated at 125 MHz, minimizing re-validation effort.
Recommended
Glue Logic Consolidation
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 consolidates scattered glue logic, address decoding, wait-state generation, and interrupt steering into a single programmable device, freeing board space and reducing BOM. With 189 I/Os and 50K gates, one EPF10K50 typically replaces 4-6 discrete address decoders (74LS138 / 74FCT138) plus an address latch and wait-state generator. The EABs serve as ROM for firmware boot vectors or character-generator tables, removing an external ROM chip. Designers targeting lead-free manufacturing should select the EPF10K50VQC240-3N variant.
Recommended
Prototyping and Education Platforms
The EPF10K50VQC240-3 is widely used in university FPGA courses and hardware prototyping labs because of its mature toolchain (MAX+PLUS II and Quartus II legacy), 240-pin PQFP easy-to-solder footprint, and abundant reference designs. The 50K-gate density is sufficient for teaching pipelined CPU cores (MIPS, RISC-V RV32I), simple DSP filters, and SoC integration with embedded Nios soft-core. The 189 I/Os support prototyping boards with buttons, switches, LEDs, 7-segment displays, and a VGA connector without external buffering.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPF10K50VQC240-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPF10K50VQC240-2 | EPF10K50VQC240-1 | EPF10K50VQC240-3N | EPF10K50SQC240-3N | EPF10K50EQC240-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 240-pin PQFP | 240-pin PQFP (same) | 240-pin PQFP (same) | 240-pin PQFP (same) | 240-pin PQFP (same) | 240-pin PQFP (same) |
| Logic Cells | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 | 2,880 |
| Speed Grade | -3 (mid-tier) | -2 (faster) | -1 (fastest) | -3 (same) | -3 (same) | -3 (same) |
| User I/Os | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 | 189 |
| Typical Fmax | 125 MHz | ~150 MHz | ~175 MHz | 125 MHz | 125 MHz | 125 MHz |
| Power Variant | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard | Security-enhanced | Low-power E-suffix |
Key Differentiators
- Faster speed grade available in the same footprint (vs EPF10K50VQC240-2)
- Lead-free RoHS variant available (vs EPF10K50VQC240-3N)
- Security-enhanced configuration encryption available (vs EPF10K50SQC240-3N)
Design Notes
The 240-pin PQFP has a 0.5 mm lead pitch and gull-wing leads on all four package sides. Per Altera's FLEX 10K hardware reference, keep all 8 VCCINT and 8 GND pins connected with wide traces; place 0.1 µF and 10 µF decoupling capacitors within 5 mm of each VCCINT pin. The PQFP body is large (approximately 32 mm × 32 mm) so plan for adequate board real estate; a 4-layer PCB with dedicated VCC and GND planes is strongly recommended.
The FLEX 10K is SRAM-based and requires a configuration device on every power-up. The EPF10K50VQC240-3 typically pairs with an EPC2 or EPC8 configuration PROM, or with a microcontroller-driven slave-serial configuration. The CONF_DONE and nSTATUS pins are open-drain and require a 10 kΩ pull-up to VCCIO. nCONFIG must be held low at power-up for at least 2 µs before releasing to initiate configuration, per the FLEX 10K datasheet.
Estimated: at 100% logic utilization (2,880 cells switching at 125 MHz with 50 pF output loads), the EPF10K50VQC240-3 dissipates approximately 1.8 W. With the 240-pin PQFP theta_JA of approximately 28 °C/W, junction temperature rises 50 °C above ambient at commercial 25 °C, reaching 75 °C - within the 0-70 °C commercial operating range. Ensure at least 4 ground vias in the center pad area for additional thermal sinking on 4-layer boards.
Do not confuse VCCINT (3.3 V core) with VCCIO (I/O supply, which can be 2.5 V, 3.3 V, or 5 V depending on I/O standard). Mixing these supplies will damage the device. Also note that the FLEX 10K family does not support LVDS or SSTL I/O standards - these were added in the Stratix family. The configuration JTAG chain is shared with the JTAG boundary-scan for user logic; ensure BSDL files for both the EPF10K50 and any downstream devices are concatenated correctly in MAX+PLUS II.
Compliance Information
Compliance status not explicitly stated in the verified web data. The base -3 part may use SnPb lead finish; select the -3N variant for lead-free / RoHS-compliant manufacturing.
