EP1C12F256C8N - Cyclone FPGA, 12,060 LEs, 256-BGA | Intel/Altera
MPN: EP1C12F256C8N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $32.75 | $327.50 |
| 100 | $24.2 | $2,420.00 |
| 500 | $18.4 | $9,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $15.1 | $15,100.00 |
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View Datasheet →EP1C12F256C8N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone I |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 12,060 |
| Total Memory Bits | 239,616 bits |
| Embedded Memory Blocks | 52 M4K (4,608 bits each) |
| Maximum User I/Os | 185 |
| PLLs | 2 |
| Package | 256-ball FBGA (FineLine BGA), 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Process Technology | 0.13-µm, all-layer copper SRAM |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial, -8) |
| Lead-Free / Pb-Free Suffix | Yes (N suffix) |
| Maximum Internal Operating Frequency | up to 275.03 MHz |
| Operating Temperature (commercial) | 0C to +85C |
| Configuration Method | Active Serial, Active Parallel, Passive Serial, JTAG |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP1C12F256C8N 256-ball fbga (fineline bga), 17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C12F256C8N (256-ball fbga (fineline bga), 17x17 mm, 1.0 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 EP1C12F256C8N.
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
EP1C12F256C8N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, LCD Display Controller / Video Bridge, Telecom Line Card Glue Logic, Automotive Infotainment Pre-Production, Software-Defined Radio Front End, Medical Imaging Pre-Processor.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP1C12F256C8N is well suited to industrial motor-control loops: 12,060 LEs provide combinational and sequential logic for PWM generation, Hall-sensor decoding, FOC (field-oriented control) state machines, and protection logic, while the two on-chip PLLs generate precisely phased carrier clocks for multi-axis drives. The 185 user I/Os in the 256-FBGA package expose enough channels to drive six- or eight-axis stepper/servo systems with quadrature encoder feedback, Hall sensors, and opto-isolated enable lines. The 52 M4K blocks (239 Kbits of RAM) are typically used for velocity/position look-up tables, current-controller accumulator buffers, and CAN message buffering. Cyclone-I logic reliably supports ~100 kHz PWM rates needed for sub-millisecond current-loop closure in servo drives, and the industrial-grade sibling EP1C12F256I8N extends operation to -40C to +100C.
Recommended
LCD Display Controller / Video Bridge
The EP1C12F256C8N is widely used as a low-cost LCD / DVI controller bridge in cost-sensitive embedded display applications. Its 12,060 LEs and 52 M4K blocks deliver enough bandwidth to perform color-space conversion (YCrCb ↔ RGB), chroma up-sampling, frame-rate conversion, and pixel-rate doubling for 800x480 to 1920x1080 panels. The two PLLs synthesize the pixel clock from a low-frequency reference, and 185 user I/Os expose LVDS pairs for direct panel connection, plus parallel 24-bit RGB for legacy TFTs. The 239 Kbits of embedded RAM is sufficient for line buffers and gamma-correction look-up tables in mid-size panels. Pairing the FPGA with an EPCS16 or EPCS64 serial flash holds configuration and gamma tables non-volatilely.
Recommended
Telecom Line Card Glue Logic
Telecom line cards (T1/E1, TDM cross-connects, framer/mapper devices) historically used the EP1C12F256C8N as a flexible glue-logic layer between PHY transceivers, framers, and network processors. The 12,060 LEs and 185 user I/Os implement UTOPIA / POS-PHY interfaces, SPI-4.2 bridge logic, HDLC controllers, and per-channel status LEDs without external CPLDs. The two PLLs multiply low-frequency backplane clocks to the required per-channel bit-clock frequencies. The 52 M4K blocks buffer per-channel state and jitter-tolerance measurements. The 256-FBGA package fits the dense backplane geometry of telecom line cards while keeping power consumption modest via the 0.13-µm process.
Recommended
Automotive Infotainment Pre-Production
Pre-production automotive infotainment platforms have used the EP1C12F256C8N as a flexible I/O and protocol-bridging fabric between automotive MCUs, audio CODECs, CAN/LIN transceivers, and emerging display panels. The 12,060 LEs support CAN-to-LIN bridging, MOST network interfaces, and audio routing matrices for head units and rear-seat entertainment. The 185 I/Os expose parallel buses to graphic controllers and touch-screen controllers. The two PLLs generate pixel clocks for WVGA panels while the 239 Kbits of embedded RAM buffer audio streams and touch-event FIFOs. Production designs migrate to Cyclone IV/V automotive-grade FPGAs or dedicated SoCs, but Cyclone-I remains common in evaluation and low-volume programs.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Front End
Software-defined radio (SDR) front-end platforms have used the EP1C12F256C8N to implement digital down-conversion (DDC), filtering, decimation, and protocol framing between an ADC and a host processor. With 12,060 LEs, the FPGA handles FIR filtering, CIC decimator chains, and packet assembly for narrow-band protocols. The two PLLs synthesize the ADC sampling clock and the host bus clock from a common reference, while 185 I/Os expose LVDS-parallel ADC interfaces and a 32-bit local bus to the host. The 239 Kbits of embedded RAM is sufficient for sample buffers and coefficient storage for low-to-moderate bandwidth SDR front-ends (sub-100 MHz instantaneous bandwidth).
Recommended
Medical Imaging Pre-Processor
Pre-production medical imaging subsystems (ultrasound front-end beamformers, patient-monitor data acquisition) have used the EP1C12F256C8N as a real-time data pre-processor. Its 12,060 LEs and 239 Kbits of embedded RAM implement FIR decimation filters, beamforming delay lines, and ECG/EEG channel aggregation without external DSPs. The two PLLs generate precisely phased clocks for synchronized ADC sampling across multiple channels, while 185 user I/Os expose LVDS interfaces to high-channel-count ADCs and parallel buses to a host MCU or DSP. The 256-FBGA package supports the multi-channel pin-count requirements typical of 16- to 32-channel ultrasound or EEG front-ends. Production medical designs migrate to Cyclone IV/V or dedicated ASICs, but Cyclone-I remains in legacy and low-volume clinical systems.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C12F256C8N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C12F256C7N | EP1C12F256C6N | EP1C12F256C6AA | EP1C12F256C7 | EP1C12F256C6 | EP1C12F256C8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 256-FBGA (17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) | 256-FBGA (same) | 256-FBGA (same) | 256-FBGA (same) | 256-FBGA (same) | 256-FBGA (same) | 256-FBGA (same) |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Logic Elements | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 |
| Maximum User I/Os | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 |
| Speed Grade | C8 (-8) | C7 (-7, faster) | C6 (-6, fastest) | C6 (-6, automotive temp) | C7 (-7, SnPb finish) | C6 (-6, SnPb finish) | C8 (-8, SnPb finish) |
| Lead Finish | Pb-free (matte Sn, RoHS) | Pb-free (RoHS) | Pb-free (RoHS) | Pb-free (RoHS) | SnPb (non-RoHS) | SnPb (non-RoHS) | SnPb (non-RoHS) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | -40C to +125C (automotive) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Approx. Unit Price (qty 1) | $38.50 | $44.20 | $52.80 | $58.40 | $42.10 | $49.95 | $36.80 |
Key Differentiators
- Highest same-family Cyclone-I density in 256-FBGA (vs EP1C6F256C8N (smaller Cyclone-I))
- C8 speed grade offers lowest unit cost (vs EP1C12F256C7N (C7 speed grade))
- Pb-free / RoHS compliant finish (vs EP1C12F256C8 (SnPb finish, no N suffix))
- Commercial-temperature operation (vs EP1C12F256C6AA (automotive temperature))
Design Notes
The EP1C12F256C8N requires three separate supply rails: VCCINT (1.5 V core, low-noise LDO or DC-DC), VCCIO (per I/O bank, 1.5 V/1.8 V/2.5 V/3.3 V depending on bank standard), and VCCA_PLL (1.5 V analog PLL supply, decoupled with ferrite bead from VCCINT). Power sequencing should be VCCINT first, then VCCIO, then VCCA_PLL; violating this sequence can cause long-term reliability issues. Decoupling: place 0.1 µF ceramic caps within 5 mm of every supply pin, plus 4.7 µF bulk on each rail.
Estimated: at typical 50% toggle activity, the EP1C12F256C8N dissipates roughly 0.5-1.0 W with all I/Os static. The 256-FBGA package has theta_JA of approximately 18 C/W on a 4-layer JEDEC test board, so the junction-to-ambient rise is ~9-18 C above ambient. For industrial enclosures with limited airflow, place the device away from heat sources and provide 100-200 LFM forced airflow if dissipation exceeds 1.5 W.
Use a 4-layer PCB with a continuous ground plane directly under the BGA to provide a low-impedance return path for high-speed I/Os and PLL supplies. Route differential pairs (LVDS, clock) with 100-Ω differential impedance and matched lengths to within 150 mil. Place configuration flash (EPCS4/EPCS16) within 2 inches of the FPGA DATA/DCLK/nCS pins; long traces degrade Active Serial configuration margin.
Do not leave MSEL pins floating - tie them high or low per the desired configuration mode (AS, AP, PS, JTAG). Always include a JTAG header on the PCB for in-system programming and debug, even if the design only uses Active Serial mode. Confirm Quartus II version compatibility: Cyclone-I bitstreams require Quartus II 13.1 or earlier, and modern Quartus Prime releases only support Cyclone-I in legacy mode.
For LVDS outputs on Cyclone-I, place a 100-Ω differential termination resistor across each LVDS pair at the receiver end, within 1 inch of the receiver pin. Series-resistor pre-emphasis is not available on Cyclone-I outputs, so keep LVDS traces short (<6 inches) and reference them to an unbroken ground plane. For external clock inputs, use a series 33 Ω damping resistor at the FPGA pin if the clock source is more than 2 inches away.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliance confirmed via the 'N' lead-free suffix. AEC-Q100 not applicable (commercial-temperature part; for automotive use choose EP1C12F256C6AA). Conflict-minerals status inherited from Altera (now Intel) corporate policy. Halogen-free status: not explicitly stated in available data, set to 'unknown'.
