EP1C20F324C8N - Cyclone FPGA 20,060 LE 324-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP1C20F324C8N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70.6 | $70.60 |
| 10 | $64.95 | $649.50 |
| 100 | $56.48 | $5,648.00 |
| 500 | $49.42 | $24,710.00 |
| 1,000 | $42.36 | $42,360.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1C20F324C8N — 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:
EP1C20F324C8
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View Datasheet →EP1C20F324C7N
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View Datasheet →EP1C20F324C6N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
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View Datasheet →EP1C12F324C8N
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View Datasheet →EP1C6F324C8N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1C20F324C8N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone |
| Family | Cyclone I |
| Manufacturer | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Process Technology | 130 nm CMOS |
| Logic Elements | 20,060 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 2,006 |
| Total RAM Bits | 294,912 bits |
| User I/O Count | 233 |
| Package | 324-ball FBGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial, -8) |
| RoHS Status | Pb-free / RoHS compliant |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| PLL Count | 4 |
EP1C20F324C8N 324-ball fbga (fineline bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1C20F324C8N (324-ball fbga (fineline bga) 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 EP1C20F324C8N.
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
EP1C20F324C8N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Glue-Logic and I/O Expansion, Video Processing Front-End and Image Pipeline, Telecommunications Line Card Interface Logic, Motor Control and Industrial Drive Front-End, ASIC Emulation and Rapid Prototyping, Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End.
Industrial Glue-Logic and I/O Expansion
The EP1C20F324C8N replaces legacy CPLDs and discrete TTL/CMOS glue logic on industrial control boards. With 20,060 LEs and 233 user I/O, it consolidates counters, state machines, and bus-bridging logic into a single BGA that drops onto a 19x19 mm footprint. The 130 nm CMOS core draws low quiescent current at 1.5 V, and the commercial 0C to +85C range suits factory-floor enclosures. Unlike a microcontroller, the FPGA delivers deterministic parallel latency - critical when bridging a 16-bit parallel ADC bus to a SPI host at multi-MHz rates.
Recommended
Video Processing Front-End and Image Pipeline
The EP1C20F324C8N's 20,060 LEs and embedded 18x18 multipliers handle video deinterlacing, color-space conversion, and scaling in entry-level broadcast or surveillance camera designs. The 4 PLLs generate the pixel clock, memory clock, and output clock from a single 27 MHz reference; 233 user I/O accept parallel ITU-R BT.656 or LVDS data streams. Designers pair the Cyclone I with an external SDRAM controller implemented in the LE fabric for line buffering. Compared to a software CPU approach, the FPGA processes one full HD frame at 60 fps within deterministic latency.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line Card Interface Logic
In TDM/E1 or basic-rate telecom line cards, the EP1C20F324C8N serves as a programmable framer/HDB3 coder with up to 233 LVTTL/LVCMOS I/O for parallel bus aggregation. Its 294,912 bits of RAM store per-channel state and elastic buffers; the 4 PLLs synthesize E1 (2.048 MHz), T1 (1.544 MHz), and system backplane clocks. The 130 nm process gives the device ample noise margin at 3.3 V LVCMOS, important when interfacing to legacy telecom backplanes with long PCB traces.
Recommended
Motor Control and Industrial Drive Front-End
The EP1C20F324C8N implements PWM generators, encoder decoders, and field-oriented control (FOC) preprocessing in mid-power AC induction and BLDC drives. Its 18x18 hardware multipliers compute Clarke/Park transforms and PI loops in fewer clock cycles than a microcontroller, while the 4 PLLs synthesize the PWM carrier and quadrature-encoder sampling clocks from a common 50 MHz reference. The 233 user I/O accept 3-phase gate-driver enables, hall sensors, and resolver feedback signals simultaneously, with LVDS support for high-noise immunity on long motor cables.
Recommended
ASIC Emulation and Rapid Prototyping
Designers prototyping ASIC logic choose the EP1C20F324C8N because 20,060 LEs emulate roughly 30-40 K ASIC gates and the 294,912 bits of RAM model small register files and FIFOs. The 324-ball FBGA exposes JTAG configuration pins for in-system programming during bring-up, and the C8 speed grade supports internal fMAX around 275 MHz per the device handbook. Compared to a simulation environment, the FPGA runs real-time at full clock speed, exposing timing and interface bugs before tape-out.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Instrumentation Front-End
Bench-top logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, and reconfigurable stimulus generators leverage the EP1C20F324C8N's 233 user I/O to drive or capture up to 200+ parallel channels at rates set by the 4 PLLs. The 294,912 bits of embedded RAM provide sample buffering, and the 18x18 multipliers implement real-time CRC and pattern-matching math. The Cyclone I's 130 nm process is robust to the wide temperature range of laboratory and field environments, and the FBGA-324 footprint keeps the design compact in modular PXI/cPCI cards.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1C20F324C8N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1C20F324C8 | EP1C20F324C7N | EP1C20F324C6N | EP1C20F324C7 | EP1C12F324C8N | EP1C6F324C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 324-ball FBGA | 324-ball FBGA - same | 324-ball FBGA - same | 324-ball FBGA - same | 324-ball FBGA - same | 324-ball FBGA - same | 324-ball FBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 20,060 | 20,060 | 20,060 | 20,060 | 20,060 | 12,060 (-40%) | 5,980 (-70%) |
| Speed Grade | C8 | C8 | C7 (faster) | C6 (fastest) | C7 (faster) | C8 | C8 |
| Pb-free (RoHS) | Yes (N suffix) | No (SnPb) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | No (SnPb) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) |
| User I/O Count | 233 | 233 | 233 | 233 | 233 | 233 | 233 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 294,912 | 294,912 | 294,912 | 294,912 | 294,912 | 239,616 (-19%) | 92,160 (-69%) |
| Process Technology | 130 nm | 130 nm | 130 nm | 130 nm | 130 nm | 130 nm | 130 nm |
Key Differentiators
- Highest LE density in Cyclone I FBGA-324 family (vs EP1C12F324C8N)
- Pb-free RoHS-compliant version available in -8 speed grade (vs EP1C20F324C8)
- Compatible -7 and -6 speed grades available for higher fMAX (vs EP1C20F324C7N)
Design Notes
The EP1C20F324C8N's 324-ball FBGA (1.0 mm pitch) requires at least 4 PCB layers with solid power and ground planes directly beneath the device. Use microvia or via-in-pad technology for inner-row balls; if standard dog-bone fan-out is used, route 4 mil traces on a 0.5 mm pitch to escape the outer row, which demands 0.8 mm-pitch BGA breakout. The 19x19 mm package body keeps total board area reasonable for industrial designs.
The Cyclone I core runs from VCCINT = 1.5 V and each I/O bank from VCCIO between 1.5 V and 3.3 V. Estimate: at 50% LE utilization, expect approximately 1.5 W to 2.5 W core dissipation. Place 100 nF X7R decoupling caps on every VCCINT ball, plus four 10 uF bulk caps distributed around the package. Use a separate LDO (e.g., LT1761-1.5) to isolate VCCINT from switching-regulator noise.
The Cyclone I family is in NRND status - new designs should consider Cyclone II (90 nm) or Cyclone IV (60 nm) as modern replacements with longer lifecycle support. When migrating to EP2C20F324C8N, be aware that the bitstream format is incompatible and the Quartus II fitter settings must be regenerated. Verify JTAG chain order and TMS/TCK pull-ups before assuming a Cyclone I configuration design works on a Cyclone II board.
LVDS I/O on the EP1C20F324C8N requires 100 ohm differential termination at the receiver; the device does not include on-chip LVDS termination. For DDR-style external memory interfaces, route clock and DQS traces with matched length within +/-50 mil of the longest strobe, and use 4 mil / 8 mil microstrip on the top layer over a solid ground plane.
Compliance Information
EP1C20F324C8N carries the 'N' suffix indicating Pb-free finish / RoHS compliance per Altera/Intel ordering code conventions. Commercial grade only (0C to +85C); for industrial temperature grade, look at EP1C20F324I7N. AEC-Q100 automotive qualification is not available on Cyclone I; automotive applications should consider MAX II CPLDs or Cyclone IV GX.
