A3P600-FG256 - ProASIC3 Flash FPGA 600K Gates 256-BGA | Microchip
MPN: A3P600-FG256 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $68.5 | $68.50 |
| 10 | $63.2 | $632.00 |
| 100 | $57.8 | $5,780.00 |
| 500 | $52.4 | $26,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $48.9 | $48,900.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for A3P600-FG256 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
A3P600-FG256I
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$23.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →A3P600-FGG256
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View Datasheet →A3P600-FGG256I
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View Datasheet →A3P600-1FGG256
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$18.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →A3P600-2FGG256I
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$49.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →A3P600L-FG256I
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View Datasheet →A3P600-FG256 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | ProASIC3 (Flash FPGAs) |
| System Gates | 600000 |
| Logic Elements | 7K LEs (VersaTiles) |
| Embedded SRAM | 110592 bits (True Dual-Port) |
| User I/O | 177 |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.425 V to 1.575 V (1.5 V nominal) |
| Process Technology | 130-nm, 7-layer metal (6 copper), flash-based CMOS |
| Maximum System Performance | Approx. 231 MHz |
| Configuration Technology | On-chip flash, reprogrammable, single-chip |
| Power-Up Behavior | Instant On Level 0 support |
| Package | 256-LBGA / FBGA (17x17 mm, 1 mm pitch) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 85 C (TJ) |
| I/O Banks | 4 (independent VCCIBx supplies) |
| Packaging | Tray |
| RoHS Status | RoHS non-compliant (per Microchip USA listing) |
| Manufacturer Lead Time | 8 weeks |
A3P600-FG256 256-lbga / fbga (17x17 mm, 1 mm pitch) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for A3P600-FG256 (256-lbga / fbga (17x17 mm, 1 mm pitch) 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 A3P600-FG256.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
A3P600-FG256 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Automation and Motor Control, Aerospace and Defense Control Logic, Secure Embedded Controllers, Communications Bridging and Protocol Conversion, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Portable and Low-Power Edge Systems.
Industrial Automation and Motor Control
The A3P600-FG256 fits industrial automation and motor control well because its 600,000 flash-based gates and 110592-bit True Dual-Port SRAM implement PWM engines, quadrature encoders, fieldbus bridging, and safety interlocks in a single live-at-power-up chip. Its four independently supplied I/O banks (individual VCCIBx rails) accept the 3.3V, 2.5V, and 1.8V logic families common on PLC backplanes without level-shifting glue. Because configuration is stored in on-chip 130-nm flash with Instant On Level 0 support, drives and controllers are ready within microseconds of power-up - critical for deterministic startup - and no external configuration flash needs to be secured. Trade-off: the flash fabric has finite program/erase cycles compared to SRAM FPGAs, so place the part in field-upgrade-rare roles rather than daily-reflashed prototypes.
Recommended
Aerospace and Defense Control Logic
ProASIC3 flash FPGAs are a proven choice for defense ground equipment, avionics support hardware, and New Space payloads where a single-chip, configuration-upset-resistant fabric is valued. The A3P600-FG256's on-chip flash removes the external bitstream store that SRAM FPGAs require, shrinking the single-event-upset and reverse-engineering attack surface; Microchip's complementary RTAX-S/SL antifuse families (e.g., RTAX2000S-CQ352V) serve full flight programs. With 177 user I/Os and approximately 231 MHz internal performance, the device hosts telemetry framing, bus interfaces, and payload sequencers. Design consideration: this commercial-grade part is rated 0 to 85 C junction, so specify the A3P600-FG256I/Fgg256I industrial variants or RTAX parts for wide-temperature and radiation environments, and follow Microchip's PCN0708 pinout revisions in board design.
Recommended
Secure Embedded Controllers
For secure embedded controllers that must protect firmware and design IP, the A3P600-FG256's non-volatile flash fabric means there is no bitstream on an external bus to intercept during boot - a structural security advantage over SRAM FPGAs. The 600K-gate fabric implements cryptographic wrappers, tamper-detection logic, and secure state machines, while 110592 bits of True Dual-Port SRAM buffers data between security domains. Instant On behavior ensures the protection logic is active before other board-level devices initialize. Per Microchip product literature, ProASIC3 targets low total cost of ownership single-chip solutions, which reduces BOM audit surface for certified products. Trade-off: reprogrammability is bounded by flash endurance, so plan firmware update strategy around Microchip's specified program/erase cycles rather than treating it like SRAM reconfigurability.
Recommended
Communications Bridging and Protocol Conversion
The A3P600-FG256 serves as a protocol bridge between legacy and modern interfaces in networking and industrial communications equipment. Its 177 user I/Os across four voltage banks let one device terminate 3.3V UART/SPI legacy ports and 1.8V/2.5V high-speed links simultaneously, and the 110592-bit True Dual-Port SRAM implements elastic buffers and FIFOs for clock-domain crossing. Flash-based Instant On support means the bridge is operational before host processors finish booting, preventing bus lockups at cold boot. At approximately 231 MHz internal performance, the fabric sustains typical 10/100 Ethernet MAC, CAN, and serial protocol cores. Consider that for multi-gigabit SerDes workloads a higher-tier family (A3PE or Fusion) is more appropriate; this part targets parallel and low-gigabit bridging.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
Bench and automated test instruments benefit from the A3P600-FG256's deterministic, instant-on control fabric: trigger engines, timing generators, and scanner sequencers run the moment power is applied, with no configuration-download latency. The 600K-gate fabric plus 110592 bits of dual-port SRAM handle stimulus playback and result capture, while 177 I/Os fan out to relay drivers, ADC front ends, and DUT interfaces across four mixed-voltage banks. Reprogrammable flash allows instrument firmware feature updates in the field without socketed parts, supporting long service lives. Design note: because flash programming is in-system via JTAG, reserve header access on production boards; the commercial 0-85 C junction rating is adequate for lab environments, but benchtop units with sealed enclosures should verify thermal derating of the 17x17 mm BGA.
Recommended
Portable and Low-Power Edge Systems
Battery-operated edge devices, handheld instruments, and IoT gateways use the A3P600 family - especially the low-power A3P600L variants - because the flash fabric draws no configuration-load current and supports low static-power standby, unlike SRAM FPGAs that burn power holding bitstreams. The single 1.5V core (1.425V-1.575V) simplifies the power tree, and Instant On behavior enables event-driven wake-up where logic must respond before a host MCU boots. With 177 I/Os and 600K gates in a compact 17x17 mm BGA, the part integrates sensor interfacing, display scanning, and wireless module control in one device. Design trade-off: flash-based reprogramming cycles are finite, so firmware update mechanisms for battery devices should use host-side flash plus occasional FPGA reprogramming rather than frequent FPGA reflashing.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for A3P600-FG256 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | A3P600-FG256I | A3P600-FGG256 | A3P600-1FGG256 | A3P600L-FG256I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Microchip Technology (Microsemi/Actel) | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology | Microchip Technology |
| Package | 256-LBGA / FBGA (17x17 mm, 1 mm pitch) | 256-LBGA - same | 256-LBGA - same | 256-LBGA - same | 256-LBGA - same |
| System Gates | 600000 | 600000 | 600000 | 600000 | 600000 |
| User I/O | 177 | 177 | 177 | 177 | 177 |
| Embedded SRAM (bits) | 110592 | 110592 | 110592 | 110592 | 110592 |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.425 V to 1.575 V (1.5 V nominal) | 1.425 V to 1.575 V | 1.425 V to 1.575 V | 1.425 V to 1.575 V | 1.425 V to 1.575 V |
| Speed Grade | Standard | Standard | Standard | -1 (faster) | Standard (low-power) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to 85 C TJ) | Industrial | Commercial | Commercial | Industrial |
| RoHS Status | RoHS non-compliant (per Microchip USA listing) | [DATA_NEEDED] | RoHS compliant (lead-free FGG suffix) | RoHS compliant (lead-free FGG suffix) | [DATA_NEEDED] |
Key Differentiators
- Single-chip flash configuration - no external boot device (vs Xilinx Spartan-3 / Intel Cyclone (functional equivalents))
- Lead-free drop-in upgrade available (vs A3P600-FGG256)
- Four independent I/O voltage banks (vs A3P600L-FG256I)
- Speed-grade headroom within the same footprint (vs A3P600-1FGG256)
Design Notes
Plan the power tree around the 1.5V core (1.425V-1.575V) plus one independent VCCIBx rail per I/O bank - four banks total on the A3P600. Only I/Os with compatible voltage standards may share a bank, per Microchip's ProASIC3 migration application note, so assign bank voltages before pin-locking in Libero IDE. Decouple each bank's VCCIBx with bulk (10 uF) plus local 0.1 uF ceramics near the balls; core supply ripple directly affects timing, so use a regulator with adequate transient response for simultaneous-switching I/O events.
Observe Microchip PCN0708: pinouts on A3P600-FG256/FGG256 (and related packages) were revised to achieve improved pin compatibility and optimized performance across the ProASIC3 family. Boards designed from pre-PCN documentation may have wrong ball assignments. Always validate your footprint against the current datasheet pin assignments chapter and, ideally, against the official a3p600_fg256.bsd BSDL file, which encodes the complete verified pin map for boundary-scan testing.
The 17x17 mm, 1 mm-pitch 256-ball BGA is a standard low-cost assembly target: 0.5 mm trace/0.12 mm via-in-pad or dog-bone escape routing on 4-6 layers is sufficient since only perimeter balls carry most signals and power balls are distributed. Follow the datasheet land-pattern recommendation, define solder-mask-defined pads, and treat the commercial 0-85 C junction rating as a design limit: budget junction temperature with local ambient near the device, not enclosure ambient, when verifying timing derating.
Mixed-voltage I/O banks make bank assignment a signal-integrity decision: group fast single-ended buses and clock outputs away from sensitive analog-adjacent banks, and match trace lengths on source-synchronous interfaces. Because the flash fabric powers up live (Instant On Level 0), outputs may drive within microseconds of VCC ramp - add pull resistors or enable-inhibit on outputs that must stay inactive during board-level power sequencing of other devices.
Compliance Information
Microchip USA lists A3P600-FG256 as RoHS non-compliant; the FGG256 suffix variants are the lead-free/RoHS-compliant drop-ins. AEC-Q100 qualification not indicated for this commercial-grade part.
