EP1C12F324I7 - Cyclone FPGA 12,060 LE | 324-FBGA | Altera
MPN: EP1C12F324I7 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $78.5 | $78.50 |
| 10 | $72.3 | $723.00 |
| 100 | $64.9 | $6,490.00 |
| 500 | $58.4 | $29,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $52.1 | $52,100.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1C12F324I7 — 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:
EP1C12F324I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$52.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$51.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C8NGA
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$22.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$37.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C8L
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$23.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$21.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1C12F324I7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone |
| Logic Elements | 12,060 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 1,206 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 239,616 |
| Maximum User I/O | 249 |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 320.1 MHz |
| Process Technology | 130 nm CMOS |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| PLLs | 2 |
| Package | 324-ball FBGA |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +100 °C (Industrial) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Configuration Method | SRAM / JTAG / Serial PROM |
| MSL Level | 3 (168 hours) |
EP1C12F324I7 324-ball fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C12F324I7 (324-ball fbga 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 EP1C12F324I7.
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
EP1C12F324I7 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Video Processing and Image Capture, Communications Line Cards and Protocol Bridging, Embedded Prototyping and ASIC Emulation, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Military and Aerospace Avionics.
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
The EP1C12F324I7 is well suited to industrial control platforms because its 12,060 logic elements and 249 user I/Os can absorb glue logic, motor-control interfaces, and protocol bridging on a single device. Industrial temperature operation (-40 to +100 °C) supports placement inside unshielded factory cabinets where ambient temperatures commonly exceed 70 °C. The two integrated PLLs allow frequency synthesis for CAN, RS-485, and Ethernet PHY reference clocks. Designers typically instantiate soft IP cores such as Modbus RTU or Profibus and use the M4K RAM blocks as FIFO buffers for UART and SPI peripherals. Compared with discrete 5-V TTL logic implementations, this Cyclone device consolidates an entire control board into one BGA, reducing PCB area and BOM cost.
Recommended
Video Processing and Image Capture
With 239,616 bits of embedded RAM and DSP-friendly logic blocks, the EP1C12F324I7 can implement mid-resolution video pipelines including Bayer-to-RGB conversion, scaling, and overlay generation. The 249 available I/Os easily accommodate parallel ITU-R BT.656 or LVDS camera interfaces alongside DDR memory data buses. Designers pair the device with an external SDRAM frame buffer, using the M4K blocks as line buffers between pixel domains. Its 320.1 MHz maximum internal frequency supports standard-definition and low-resolution megapixel streams. For surveillance DVR or machine-vision front-ends, this Cyclone part provides the I/O density and RAM bandwidth needed for real-time pixel processing.
Recommended
Communications Line Cards and Protocol Bridging
Telecom and datacom line cards commonly use the EP1C12F324I7 for protocol bridging, traffic shaping, and low-rate packet processing. The 249 user I/Os support multiple SGMII / GMII / SPI / I2C interfaces simultaneously, while the two PLLs synthesize independent reference clocks for PHY and SERDES blocks. M4K RAM blocks serve as elastic buffers for clock-domain crossing between MAC and switch fabrics. Industrial temperature grade allows deployment in outdoor remote cabinets. Quartus II soft IP (e.g., Triple-Speed Ethernet MAC) is verified against this Cyclone device, accelerating time-to-market.
Recommended
Embedded Prototyping and ASIC Emulation
Engineering teams use the EP1C12F324I7 to prototype ASIC RTL before tape-out, leveraging its 12,060 logic elements to map medium-complexity subsystems such as DMA engines, memory controllers, or peripheral bridges. In-system programmability via JTAG enables rapid design-iteration cycles of minutes rather than days. The industrial temperature grade also lets the same hardware serve as a bring-up platform in lab and field environments. Designers frequently couple this FPGA with a soft 32-bit Nios II processor for SoC prototyping, validating software/firmware interaction before committing to an ASIC. Lower per-unit cost (relative to high-end FPGAs) makes it economical to deploy in production-grade prototypes.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
Test equipment manufacturers adopt the EP1C12F324I7 to implement arbitrary waveform generators, logic-analyzer capture engines, and protocol exercisers. The wide I/O count accepts up to 249 channels of digital stimulus/response, while the M4K RAM blocks store captured samples at hundreds of megahertz. Dual PLLs provide independent clock synthesis for the stimulus and acquisition paths. Industrial temperature grade ensures bench and field-portable instruments operate reliably. Latency-critical paths benefit from the 130 nm ASIC-like routing architecture, delivering deterministic timing for protocol compliance testing.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Avionics
Legacy avionics systems and military-grade ground equipment continue to use the EP1C12F324I7 for data-acquisition, signal conditioning, and MIL-STD-1553 interface bridging. The industrial temperature range covers avionics bay requirements, and the 324-FBGA package withstands high-vibration environments when properly board-mounted. Two PLLs allow the FPGA to recover clocks from avionics buses and re-clock them for downstream processors. Embedded M4K blocks hold protocol message buffers. For long-life defense programs where re-spin is impractical, this Cyclone device remains in inventory channels.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C12F324I7 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C12F324I7N | EP1C12F324C8N | EP1C12F324C8NGA | EP1C12F324C7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 324-FBGA | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Logic Elements | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40 to +100 °C) | Industrial (-40 to +100 °C) | Commercial (0 to +85 °C) | Commercial (0 to +85 °C) | Commercial (0 to +85 °C) |
| Speed Grade | 7 (I7) | 7 (I7) | 8 (C8, faster) | 8 (C8, faster) | 7 (C7, equivalent timing) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| RoHS Compliance | [DATA_NEEDED: rohs status] | Lead-free (RoHS) | Lead-free (RoHS) | Lead-free (RoHS, gold finish) | Lead-free (RoHS) |
| Lifecycle Status | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy | Last-time-buy |
Key Differentiators
- Highest industrial-temperature spec-grade variant of the Cyclone I family in the 324-FBGA (vs EP1C12F324C7N)
- RoHS-compliant lead-free alternative available as a true drop-in (vs EP1C12F324I7N)
- Speed grade 7 (I7) versus 8 (C8) - the I7 variant is preferred for industrial noise-margin robustness (vs EP1C12F324C8N)
Design Notes
The EP1C12F324I7 requires a stable 1.5 V core supply with a tolerance of ±5% and a separate 3.3 V I/O supply. Decouple VCCINT with one 100 µF tantalum plus four 0.1 µF X7R ceramic capacitors placed adjacent to the BGA power balls. Use a dedicated LDO (e.g., Altera-recommended LT1963 or equivalent) rather than sharing the FPGA core rail with other ICs to avoid in-rush coupling during configuration. ICCINT current scales with toggle rate; estimate worst-case at 500 mA typical for a fully utilized 12,060-LE design running at 200 MHz.
The 324-FBGA package has a 1.0 mm ball pitch, requiring a 4- or 6-layer PCB with microvia (laser-drilled) stack-up. Route all signals on inner layers with microvias from the top pad; never route traces under the BGA on the top layer. Use 50 Ω controlled-impedance traces for LVDS and clock pairs, and length-match within 150 mils for DDR interfaces. Exposed die-pad ground balls must be soldered to a continuous ground pour to meet thermal and signal-integrity requirements.
Do not confuse the EP1C12F324I7 with the EP1C12F256I7 (256-FBGA package, lower I/O count of 185). The 'F324' suffix denotes the 324-ball package. Configuration mode (AS, AP, PS, JTAG) must be set via MSEL pins before power-up; incorrect settings prevent bitstream loading. The Cyclone I device does not support passive serial with continuous decompression - use passive serial (PS) mode with EPCS serial PROMs for the simplest configuration path.
Compliance Information
Compliance status not explicitly stated in provided web data; the lead-free variant (EP1C12F324I7N) is RoHS-compliant per standard Altera/Intel part-number suffix convention.
