EP1C12Q240I7 - 12K LE Cyclone FPGA 240-PQFP | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP1C12Q240I7 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $69.9 | $69.90 |
| 10 | $58.5 | $585.00 |
| 100 | $42.75 | $4,275.00 |
| 500 | $35.2 | $17,600.00 |
| 1,000 | $30.1 | $30,100.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1C12Q240I7 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
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EP1C12Q240I6
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View Datasheet →EP1C12Q240C8N
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View Datasheet →EP1C12Q240C6
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View Datasheet →EP1C12Q240I7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 12,060 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 1,206 |
| Total RAM Bits | 239,616 |
| User I/O Pins | 173 |
| PLLs | 2 |
| Process Technology | 130 nm CMOS, 1.5 V core |
| Package | 240-pin PQFP / BFQFP (240QFP) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | -40°C to +100°C (industrial) |
| Speed Grade | I7 |
| Configuration Method | Serial or parallel, SRAM-based |
| Design Software | Altera Quartus II |
EP1C12Q240I7 240-pin pqfp / bfqfp (240qfp) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C12Q240I7 (240-pin pqfp / bfqfp (240qfp) package) with 173 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 EP1C12Q240I7.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 173 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
EP1C12Q240I7 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Telecommunications Line-Card Glue Logic, Video Processing Pipelines, Test & Measurement Equipment, ASIC Prototype Emulation, Legacy Industrial Retrofit.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP1C12Q240I7's 12,060 logic elements and 173 user I/O pins are well suited to industrial motor control where multiple encoder inputs, PWM channels, and fieldbus interfaces must be processed in parallel. Its industrial temperature range (-40°C to +100°C) supports deployment in factory cabinets. Two on-chip PLLs generate the high-frequency clocks needed for PWM generation and resolver excitation. Compared with a microcontroller, the FPGA executes current-loop calculations in deterministic hardware latency, improving torque ripple performance at high switching frequencies.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line-Card Glue Logic
The 1.5 V core and 3.3 V I/O of the EP1C12Q240I7 align with telecom line-card voltage rails, and the 173 I/O pins support UTOPIA, POS-PHY, or SPI-4.2 interface bridging. The 239,616 bits of M4K RAM provide packet buffering without external memory. Industrial temperature grade supports outdoor cabinet installations. Cyclone FPGAs were widely adopted as glue logic between network processors and PHY/Framer devices where ASSP availability was limited.
Recommended
Video Processing Pipelines
The EP1C12Q240I7's parallel logic fabric is ideal for real-time video processing such as color-space conversion, deinterlacing, and on-screen display overlay. The 173 I/O pins accommodate parallel ITU-R BT.656 or digital RGB video buses plus DMA interfaces to external SDRAM. The two PLLs synthesize the pixel clock from a 27 MHz reference, and the embedded M4K RAM blocks implement line buffers. Cyclone is sufficient for SD/standard-definition video but not for HD-SDI without external serializers.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Equipment
The Cyclone EP1C12Q240I7 is a strong fit for bench-top test instruments (logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, arbitrary waveform generators) where the FPGA acts as the timing controller and pattern generator. Its industrial temperature range supports laboratory and field environments, and the 12,060 LEs accommodate state machines for protocol decoding (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN). The PLLs multiply a low-frequency reference to produce precise sample clocks. Engineers can implement custom trigger logic without an external ASIC.
Recommended
ASIC Prototype Emulation
Designers use the EP1C12Q240I7 to prototype ASIC RTL before committing to mask costs, partitioning the design across one or more Cyclone devices. The 12,060 LE capacity emulates blocks of up to ~30K gates of synthesized logic, and the 173 I/O pins expose internal buses for verification. Quartus II synthesis with the same RTL used for the ASIC target enables fast design iteration. Industrial temperature grade also suits automotive prototype emulation.
Recommended
Legacy Industrial Retrofit
Many deployed industrial systems built in the early 2000s use the Cyclone EP1C12Q240I7 in PLCs, distributed I/O modules, and process controllers. When original parts fail or inventory is depleted, the same 240-PQFP footprint accepts speed-grade and temperature-grade variants of the EP1C12Q240 family without PCB rework. This makes the EP1C12Q240 series a critical long-term support part for industrial maintenance engineers, even though Altera has discontinued new production.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C12Q240I7 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C12Q240I6 | EP1C12Q240C8N | EP1C12Q240C8 | EP1C12Q240C7N | EP1C12Q240C7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel / Altera | Intel / Altera | Intel / Altera | Intel / Altera | Intel / Altera | Intel / Altera |
| Package | 240-PQFP | 240-PQFP (same) | 240-PQFP (same) | 240-PQFP (same) | 240-PQFP (same) | 240-PQFP (same) |
| Logic Elements | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 | 12,060 |
| User I/O Pins | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 | 173 |
| RAM Bits | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 | 239,616 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40°C to +100°C) | Industrial (-40°C to +100°C) | Commercial (0°C to +85°C) | Commercial (0°C to +85°C) | Commercial (0°C to +85°C) | Commercial (0°C to +85°C) |
| Speed Grade | I7 (fastest industrial) | I6 | C8 | C8 | C7 | C7 |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | Pb-free per N suffix | [DATA_NEEDED] | Pb-free per N suffix | [DATA_NEEDED] |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-speed industrial-grade Cyclone variant in 240-PQFP (vs EP1C12Q240I6)
- Industrial temperature range (-40°C to +100°C) (vs EP1C12Q240C8)
- PQFP package simplifies hand-prototyping and rework (vs EP4CE12F256C8N (Cyclone IV E, 256-FBGA))
Design Notes
The Cyclone EP1C12Q240I7 requires a stable 1.5 V VCCINT rail and a 3.3 V/2.5 V/1.8 V/1.5 V VCCIO rail per the Cyclone Family datasheet. Estimated: based on the 130 nm process and ~12K LE utilization at 100 MHz toggle rate, total core current is typically 200–400 mA. Place a 0.1 µF ceramic decoupling capacitor on every VCC pin and a 10 µF bulk capacitor within 25 mm of the package. Power-on sequence should ramp VCCINT before VCCIO to avoid I/O latch-up.
The 240-PQFP package has 0.5 mm pin pitch and ~32 mm × 32 mm body; route all signals on inner layers with a 0.2 mm trace width and 0.15 mm clearance to escape the fine-pitch perimeter pins. Provide a continuous ground plane beneath the device for return-current paths and to control SSO noise. Place the configuration EPC memory within 50 mm of the DATA0/DCLK pins to minimize skew during serial configuration.
Do not assume JTAG pins (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO) are 5 V tolerant; they are 3.3 V LVTTL only per the Cyclone Family datasheet. Verify the Quartus II version supports first-generation Cyclone devices — Quartus Prime versions newer than 16.0 dropped Cyclone I support. Always assert nCONFIG before applying VCCINT, and ensure nSTATUS returns high within the datasheet-specified tCF parameter before initiating configuration.
Compliance Information
RoHS/REACH compliance status is not present in the provided Verified Web Data. Original Altera Cyclone family (2002-era) pre-dates mandatory RoHS; the 'N' suffix on C8N/C7N/C6N indicates Pb-free assembly per industry convention.
