EP1C12F256C7 - Cyclone FPGA 12,060 LEs 256-BGA | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP1C12F256C7 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $62.11 | $62.11 |
| 10 | $58.5 | $585.00 |
| 100 | $54.2 | $5,420.00 |
| 500 | $49.75 | $24,875.00 |
| 1,000 | $46.3 | $46,300.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1C12F256C7 — 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:
EP1C12F256C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$27.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256C6
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$48.29 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256C6N
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$51.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256C6AA
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$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256I7
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$49.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256I7N
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$47.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F256C7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone |
| Family | Cyclone I (EP1C12) |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 12,060 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 1,206 |
| Total RAM Bits | 239,616 |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 52 |
| User I/O Pins | 185 |
| Number of I/O Banks | 4 |
| PLLs | 2 |
| Process Technology | 130 nm |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.5 V |
| I/O Voltage (VCCIO) | 1.5 V to 3.3 V (bank-dependent) |
| Package | 256-ball FineLine BGA (FBGA-256) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (Commercial, 'C' suffix) |
| Speed Grade | 7 |
| Configuration Mode | PS / AS / JTAG |
EP1C12F256C7 256-ball fineline bga (fbga-256) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C12F256C7 (256-ball fineline bga (fbga-256) package) with 185 pins. 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 EP1C12F256C7.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 185 pins (digital package)
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
EP1C12F256C7 is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Video Processing and Display Controllers, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Communications Glue Logic and Protocol Bridging, Low-Cost Video Surveillance DVR, Educational and Development Platforms, Medical Device Interface and Signal Conditioning.
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
The EP1C12F256C7's 12,060 logic elements and 185 user I/O make it a strong fit for industrial controllers that aggregate multiple fieldbuses, sensor arrays, and actuator drivers on a single board. Its four I/O banks support mixed voltage standards (LVTTL 3.3 V, LVCMOS 1.8 V/2.5 V, SSTL) so it can interface directly to legacy 5 V-tolerant buffers, modern 1.8 V PHYs, and DDR memory without external level shifters. With 52 dedicated 18x18 multipliers and 239,616 RAM bits, it can host real-time control loops (PID, state machines) and small FFT-based vibration analysis in parallel, while the two PLLs synthesize jitter-clean clocks for industrial Ethernet MACs. Use it between a 24 V-to-1.5 V regulator pair and your I/O connectors, and place a JTAG header for in-system programming.
Recommended
Video Processing and Display Controllers
The EP1C12F256C7 is widely deployed in low-cost video pipelines (DVRs, multi-viewer boards, kiosks) where 12,060 LEs are enough to implement de-interlacers, scalers, and on-screen-display compositors in hardware. Its 52 hardware multipliers accelerate 2D FIR filtering and motion-compensation steps at common SD/HD pixel rates, while the 239,616 RAM bits provide line buffers and frame-staging memory without external SRAM. Four I/O banks make it straightforward to receive LVDS or CMOS camera input on one bank, drive an LVDS display panel on another, and hold DDR SDRAM on the third. Use the two PLLs to derive independent video pixel clocks from a single 27 MHz reference oscillator.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
Designers use the EP1C12F256C7 as a low-cost prototyping vehicle for ASIC RTL blocks, glue logic, and bus bridges. 12,060 LEs hold approximately 60-100K gates of netlist depending on mapping efficiency, and the abundant M4K RAM blocks (4 Kbit each) are useful for register-file and FIFO models. JTAG configuration and Quartus II in-system debugging let engineers iterate RTL rapidly. The 256-FBGA package is easy to fan-out onto a multi-FPGA emulation board, and the 130 nm Cyclone I architecture is well documented with stable timing models for sign-off correlation against ASIC libraries.
Recommended
Communications Glue Logic and Protocol Bridging
The EP1C12F256C7 excels as a low-latency bridge between legacy parallel buses, UART/SPI/I2C peripherals, and modern high-speed serializers. Its 185 user I/O accommodate wide data buses plus numerous sideband signals, and its 4-input LUTs implement fast protocol state machines that run at hundreds of MHz in Cyclone I's 130 nm process. Designers routinely instantiate it as a glue-logic companion to ASSPs and ASICs, offloading glue that does not justify another dedicated IC. The two PLLs provide independent clock domains for asynchronous bridges, and 239,616 RAM bits are sufficient for moderate FIFOs between clock domains.
Recommended
Low-Cost Video Surveillance DVR
The EP1C12F256C7 is a proven building block in cost-optimized DVR boards that capture multiple analog camera channels, perform motion detection in hardware, and stream H.264 to storage. 52 dedicated 18x18 multipliers run motion-estimation kernels in parallel, and the 256-FBGA's 185 user I/O support several video decoder outputs (BT.656) plus SATA, Ethernet, and USB host interfaces. The Cyclone I architecture's low static power (~150 mW core) and small 17x17 mm FBGA footprint suit fanless enclosures. Industrial variants (EP1C12F256I7) extend operation to outdoor cabinet temperatures.
Recommended
Educational and Development Platforms
The Cyclone I family - including EP1C12F256C7 - powered the original Altera Cyclone development kit and numerous university digital-logic courses, so mature lab examples, reference designs, and Quartus II tutorials are widely available. 12,060 LEs is generous for student projects yet small enough that compile times stay under a minute on legacy laptops. The 256-FBGA breaks out to standard 0.1-inch headers on daughter cards, and the JTAG interface works with the affordable Altera USB-Blaster. New designs in education are increasingly migrating to Cyclone IV E (EP4CE) and Cyclone V boards, but Cyclone I remains common in legacy lab kits.
Recommended
Medical Device Interface and Signal Conditioning
The EP1C12F256C7 is found in medical instrumentation front-ends where it aggregates multiple ADC/DAC channels, performs digital filtering, and bridges to a host processor over SPI or USB. Its 52 hardware multipliers accelerate FIR/IIR filter implementations for ECG, pulse-oximeter, and patient-monitoring front-ends, while 239,616 RAM bits hold rolling sample buffers. Four I/O banks accept a mix of LVCMOS 3.3 V digital signals from sensors and 2.5 V signals from precision ADCs without level shifters. The 256-FBGA package allows compact board layouts that suit portable, battery-powered medical devices, although medical IEC 60601 qualification typically requires the industrial temperature variant.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C12F256C7 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C12F256C7N | EP1C12F256C6 | EP1C12F256C6N | EP1C12F256C6AA | EP1C12F256I7 | EP1C12F256I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 256-FBGA (1.0 mm pitch) | 256-FBGA - same | 256-FBGA - same | 256-FBGA - same | 256-FBGA - same | 256-FBGA - same | 256-FBGA - same |
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 |
| User I/O | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 |
| Speed Grade | 7 (mid) | 7 | 6 (slower) | 6 (slower) | 6 (slower) | 7 | 7 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (Commercial) | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | -40C to +100C (Industrial) | -40C to +100C (Industrial) |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | [DATA_NEEDED] | Yes (N suffix) | No (standard finish) | Yes (N suffix) | No | No | Yes (N suffix) |
| Total RAM Bits | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 52 |
| PLLs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Drop-in lead-free variant on the same 256-FBGA footprint (vs EP1C12F256C7 (non-N))
- Same die, lower speed grade when C7 stock is constrained (vs EP1C12F256C7)
- Industrial-temperature variant for harsh environments (vs EP1C12F256C7 (commercial))
Design Notes
The EP1C12F256C7 requires a 1.5 V VCCINT core supply and per-bank VCCIO rails that can be set independently from 1.5 V to 3.3 V. VCCINT must ramp up before or simultaneously with any VCCIO bank; reverse sequencing risks I/O latch-up. Use a dedicated LDO per VCCINT rail (a TI TPS7A4701 or equivalent) with at least 100 uF of bulk + 0.1 uF + 1 uF ceramic decoupling placed within 5 mm of the BGA balls. Estimated: at 100% utilization with all 12,060 LEs toggling, core current can exceed 1.5 A, so design the 1.5 V rail for 2 A headroom.
The 256-FineLine BGA uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch, which is compatible with conventional 0.4 mm-via PCB processes (4 mil laser vias, microvias OK on inner layers). Use a 4+ layer stack-up with continuous GND and 1.5 V power planes directly under the BGA; never route signal traces under the package. Place a 4-pin JTAG header (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO + GND/VCC) on the same board edge for the Altera USB-Blaster. Match all four clock PLL inputs with 50 ohm controlled-impedance traces and series-termination at the FPGA pin.
Do not use legacy Quartus versions older than 13.0 for Cyclone I timing closure - the device support files were dropped after Quartus II v13.1. When migrating an EP1C12 design to a Cyclone IV E (EP4CE22F17) for new production, recompile the bitstream because I/O bank voltages and LVDS signaling differ between families. Always assert CONF_DONE and nSTATUS with pull-ups on the board; leaving nSTATUS floating causes intermittent configuration failures. Estimated: configuration bitstream size for a fully utilized EP1C12 is ~3.5 Mbits, requiring an EPCS16 (16 Mbit) configuration EEPROM at minimum.
Compliance Information
EP1C12F256C7 is an obsolete Cyclone I family member manufactured by Altera (now Intel). The 'N' suffix variants (e.g. EP1C12F256C7N) are the lead-free RoHS-compliant options sharing the same die. Non-N variants are likely SnPb or non-RoHS - confirmed RoHS status not provided in the verified web data and is marked [DATA_NEEDED] in specs.
