EP1K30FC256-1 - 30K Gate ACEX-1K FPGA 256-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP1K30FC256-1 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $28.5 | $28.50 |
| 10 | $25.62 | $256.20 |
| 100 | $22.75 | $2,275.00 |
| 500 | $20.1 | $10,050.00 |
| 1,000 | $17.85 | $17,850.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1K30FC256-1 — 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:
EP1K30FC256-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$11.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K30FC256-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$22.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K50FC256-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$18.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K10FC256-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$22.62 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K30F256-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$15.6 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K30FC256-1N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$13.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K30FC256-1 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | ACEX-1K |
| Logic Elements | 17,280 |
| Typical Gates | 30,000 |
| Logic Cells | 1,728 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 24,576 |
| User I/O Pins | 171 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 216 |
| Embedded Array Blocks (EABs) | 6 |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 2.5 V |
| I/O Voltage (VCCIO) | 3.3 V / 2.5 V (multi-voltage) |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Commercial (0C to +70C) |
| Speed Grade | -1 (standard, slowest in family) |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 250 MHz (per family datasheet) |
| Process Technology | 2.5 V CMOS |
| Package | 256-pin FineLine BGA (FBGA) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Configuration Interface | Passive Serial / Passive Parallel / JTAG |
| Programming Method | SRAM-based, in-system programmable |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP1K30FC256-1 256-pin fineline bga (fbga) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1K30FC256-1 (256-pin fineline bga (fbga) package) with 171 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 EP1K30FC256-1.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 171 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
EP1K30FC256-1 is suitable for 6 applications: Glue Logic Replacement, PCI Bus Interface Bridge, Telecom Line-Card Glue Logic, Industrial Control Front-End, Low-Density DSP Co-Processor, Legacy System Refresh / Footprint Migration.
Glue Logic Replacement
The EP1K30FC256-1 fits glue-logic replacement applications because its 17,280 logic elements and 216 LABs provide enough capacity to consolidate 5-10 discrete TTL/CMOS glue chips into a single reconfigurable device. Its 171 user I/Os allow the FPGA to absorb wide bus-steering, address-latch, and chip-select decoding functions that traditionally populated a board with multiple 74-series logic packages. The 256-BGA package and 2.5 V core make it compatible with mixed-voltage legacy 5V/3.3V boards using external level shifters on I/O banks. Designers use the Quartus II IDE with schematic or VHDL/Verilog entry to capture the glue-logic netlist, and Altera's MAX+PLUS II legacy flow also supports the ACEX-1K family. Compared to a CPLD solution, the ACEX-1K offers far higher logic density at lower per-gate cost; compared to a discrete logic implementation, it shrinks board area and simplifies ECO changes. Estimated: at typical 60% utilization, the device replaces ~15-20 standard logic packages.
Recommended
PCI Bus Interface Bridge
The EP1K30FC256-1 is well-suited for PCI-bus-to-local-bus bridging designs because its 171 I/Os can simultaneously carry the 32-bit PCI bus (AD[31:0], C/BE[3:0], FRAME#, IRDY#, TRDY#, etc.) and a 32-bit local bus while still leaving spare pins for control/status registers. The 24,576 bits of embedded RAM are sufficient for small FIFOs used between the two clock domains, and the 250 MHz internal clock headroom supports the 33 MHz PCI clock with timing closure margin. Per Altera AN-116 (PCI interface implementation guide), the ACEX-1K PCI implementation is well-validated and reference designs are available. The -1 speed grade may struggle on tight tCO paths; designers targeting production volume should use the -2 or -3 grade. Recommended companion components include a PCI clock buffer (e.g., CY2305) and a 3.3V-to-5V tolerant I/O interface.
Recommended
Telecom Line-Card Glue Logic
The EP1K30FC256-1 is deployed in telecom line-card designs as a flexible glue-logic engine between framer ICs, TDM backplanes, and DSPs. The 171 I/Os can terminate multiple TDM streams (H.110 / H.100 / SCbus), implement HDLC controllers, and provide interrupt-aggregation logic. Its 24 Kbit embedded RAM allows small hardware FIFOs to smooth cell/packet traffic between upstream framers and downstream network processors. Telecom applications typically demand industrial or extended temperature grades, so designers verify the operating-temperature suffix (commercial vs. industrial) carefully; EP1K30FC256-1 ships in commercial grade (0C to +70C), with industrial variants using an 'I' suffix. The 2.5 V core and 3.3 V I/O support integrate cleanly with telecom ASICs and DSPs of the same generation. Compared to ASIC NRE, the ACEX-1K offers field-upgradability for protocol bugs.
Recommended
Industrial Control Front-End
The EP1K30FC256-1 is well-matched to industrial control and instrumentation front-ends that aggregate multiple sensor channels, implement custom PWM/encoder decoding, and bridge to a PLC or industrial-Ethernet master. Its 171 I/Os can directly interface to 16-bit ADC/DAC buses, quadrature encoders, and opto-isolated digital inputs. The 17,280 LEs allow state-machine-rich protocols (Modbus, PROFIBUS-DP, custom fieldbuses) to be implemented in hardware rather than software. Designers should note that the EP1K30FC256-1 is commercial-temperature (0C to +70C); industrial deployments often require the industrial-grade EP1K30FI256-2 (or similar) which is in a different package and not a drop-in. The SRAM-based configuration requires a boot EPROM (EPC2 or compatible) at every power-up; engineers select a flash-based configuration device for field updates.
Recommended
Low-Density DSP Co-Processor
The EP1K30FC256-1 can serve as a low-density DSP co-processor for FIR filters, FFT engines, and CRC calculations alongside a microcontroller or DSP. The 24,576 bits of embedded RAM enable distributed coefficient storage for 64-tap 8-bit FIR filters (8,192 bits for coefficients, remainder for data). The 6 EABs (Embedded Array Blocks) allow wide multiply-accumulate implementations using the EAB's 4Kbit memory as a multiplier lookup table, supporting 8x8 multiplications at one per EAB per clock cycle. Designers implement DSP functions in VHDL/Verilog using Quartus II's MegaWizard plug-ins for FIR/FFT. Performance is modest compared to dedicated DSP chips, but the FPGA's flexibility allows algorithm changes without silicon respin. For most cost-sensitive signal-conditioning applications, the ACEX-1K offers an attractive price/performance point.
Recommended
Legacy System Refresh / Footprint Migration
The EP1K30FC256-1's SameFrame pin-out makes it ideal for legacy system refreshes where the original ACEX-1K device is being replaced by a higher-density or different-speed-grade variant in the same 256-BGA footprint. Engineers can migrate from EP1K10FC256-1 (10K gates) up to EP1K30FC256-1 (30K gates) or to EP1K50FC256-1 (50K gates) without PCB changes. The SameFrame feature also enables dropping in the faster -3 speed grade (EP1K30FC256-3) to fix timing closure issues in an existing design. This SameFrame compatibility has made the ACEX-1K family popular for long-lifecycle industrial and military customers who need to extend product availability without re-laying out the board. Note that all four parts (EP1K10/30/50FC256-1, EP1K30FC256-3) require that the Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II firmware be re-synthesized for the new logic density; the JTAG programming chain remains identical.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1K30FC256-1 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1K30FC256-3 | EP1K30FC256-2 | EP1K50FC256-1 | EP1K10FC256-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 256-BGA (FineLine) | 256-BGA (FineLine) - same | 256-BGA (FineLine) - same | 256-BGA (FineLine) - same | 256-BGA (FineLine) - same |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) - same | Intel (Altera) - same | Intel (Altera) - same | Intel (Altera) - same |
| Family | ACEX-1K | ACEX-1K | ACEX-1K | ACEX-1K | ACEX-1K |
| Speed Grade | -1 (slowest) | -3 (fastest) | -2 (mid) | -1 (slowest) | -1 (slowest) |
| Typical Gates | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 50,000 | 10,000 |
| Logic Elements | 17,280 | 17,280 | 17,280 | 28,800 | 5,760 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 24,576 | 24,576 | 24,576 | 40,960 | 12,288 |
| User I/O Pins | 171 | 171 | 171 | 171 | 171 |
| Core Voltage | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V |
| Approx. Unit Price (USD) | 28.50 | 30.20 | 29.10 | 38.50 | 22.00 |
Key Differentiators
- SameFrame pin-out enables drop-in speed-grade migration (vs EP1K30FC256-3)
- Higher logic density within same 256-BGA footprint (vs EP1K10FC256-1)
- Commercial temperature grade option for cost-sensitive designs (vs EP1K30FC256-3)
Design Notes
The EP1K30FC256-1 requires a clean 2.5 V VCCINT supply with a recommended bulk decoupling of 100 uF tantalum plus 0.1 uF ceramic on each VCCINT/VCCIO pair near the BGA balls. VCCIO can be set per bank to 2.5 V or 3.3 V depending on the I/O standard; mix-and-match is supported but each bank must be powered independently. Power sequencing is not strictly required (VCCINT and VCCIO can ramp in any order) but Altera recommends VCCINT rail rise time <100 ms and monotonic ramp to avoid configuration latch-up.
The 256-BGA FineLine package requires 4-layer or 6-layer PCB routing with microvias to break out the 1.0 mm pitch ball grid. Recommended stack-up: signal-top, ground-plane-inner-1, power-plane-inner-2, signal-bottom. All BGA balls must have a via-in-pad or dog-bone fanout routed to inner layers. Use 0.5 oz copper on outer layers and 1 oz on inner power/ground planes for low inductance. Ground returns for high-speed signals must reference a continuous ground plane directly beneath the trace layer. Per Altera AN-114, place configuration EPROM (EPC2 or compatible) within 5 cm of the FPGA to avoid JTAG chain signal integrity issues.
Common pitfalls when designing with EP1K30FC256-1: (1) Forgetting to populate the configuration EPROM - the SRAM-based FPGA cannot boot without configuration data; (2) Driving JTAG TCK faster than the rated 33 MHz (older ACEX-1K datasheet sections note TCK max 10 MHz - verify against the latest rev); (3) Leaving unused I/O pins floating in noisy environments, which can draw excessive supply current via input-buffer oscillation; (4) Choosing the -1 speed grade for designs that need tight tCO/tSU margins - migrate to -2 or -3 for timing closure headroom; (5) Confusing 'FC256' (commercial temp) with 'FI256' (industrial temp) when ordering - the latter uses a different temperature grade and may have different datasheet timing numbers.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance per Altera/Intel product page. The -1N suffix variant is the lead-free reflow-compatible version. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial-grade FPGA, not automotive qualified. Halogen-free status not explicitly stated in available data.
