EP1K50TI144-3 - 50K-Gate ACEX 1K FPGA, 102 I/O, PQFP-144 | Intel
MPN: EP1K50TI144-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $18.5 | $18.50 |
| 10 | $16.2 | $162.00 |
| 100 | $13.8 | $1,380.00 |
| 500 | $11.95 | $5,975.00 |
| 1,000 | $10.4 | $10,400.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1K50TI144-3 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
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EP1K50TI144-2
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View Datasheet →EP1K50TI144-2N
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View Datasheet →EP1K50TI144-2X
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View Datasheet →EP1K50TI144-2Q
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View Datasheet →EP1K50TI144-1X
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View Datasheet →EP1K30TI144-3
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View Datasheet →EP1K30TI144-3N
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$21.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1K50TI144-3F
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1K50TI144-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | ACEX 1K |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 2,880 |
| Typical Gate Count | 50,000 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 360 |
| Embedded Array Blocks (EABs) | 72 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 40,960 |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 102 |
| Dedicated Input Pins | 6 |
| Speed Grade | -3 |
| Propagation Delay (typical) | 12.5 ns |
| Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 2.375 V to 2.625 V (2.5 V nominal) |
| Operating Temperature (industrial) | -40 C to +85 C |
| Package | 144-pin PQFP (TQFP, TI suffix) |
| Process Technology | 0.22 µm CMOS SRAM |
| Configuration Interface | JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) + serial/parallel |
EP1K50TI144-3 144-pin pqfp (tqfp, ti suffix) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1K50TI144-3 (144-pin pqfp (tqfp, ti suffix) package) with 6 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 EP1K50TI144-3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 6 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
EP1K50TI144-3 is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Glue Logic and Bus Bridging, Motor Control Pre-Processing and Encoder Decoding, Legacy Telecommunication Interface Cards, Medical Imaging Front-End Signal Processing, Avionics and Military Databus Interfaces, Educational FPGA Development Platforms, Test and Measurement Instrumentation Backplanes.
Industrial Glue Logic and Bus Bridging
The EP1K50TI144-3 is well-suited to industrial glue-logic boards that must convert between legacy parallel buses (ISA, PC/104, VME) and modern microcontrollers. Its 102 user I/O pins can absorb wide address and data buses without external muxes, and the 2,880 logic elements provide ample capacity to implement multiple state machines, FIFO controllers, and interrupt glue in a single chip. With 12.5 ns propagation delay at -3 speed grade, the part comfortably meets 25 MHz bus cycle timing. Industrial PC/104 and VMEbus SBCs shipped in 2000-2008 frequently used ACEX 1K for this exact function.
Recommended
Motor Control Pre-Processing and Encoder Decoding
In servo drive and stepper motor control boards, the EP1K50TI144-3 functions as a quadrature encoder decoder, PWM pre-processor, and Hall-sensor interface front-end. The 72 embedded array blocks (EABs) provide 40,960 bits of dual-port RAM for lookup tables (sine commutation profiles, trapezoidal profiles) accessible on the same clock that reads encoder feedback. The 6 dedicated input pins handle high-speed encoder A/B/Z channels, while 102 general I/O drive direction signals, brake outputs, and current-loop DAC interfaces. Its -40 C to +85 C industrial range suits factory-floor cabinets.
Recommended
Legacy Telecommunication Interface Cards
T1/E1 line interface cards, ISDN PRI controllers, and serial-protocol grooming cards from the early 2000s deployed ACEX 1K FPGAs to handle HDLC framing, timeslot interleaving, and clock-recovery glue between framers and DSP processors. The EP1K50TI144-3's 40,960 bits of dual-port RAM provided elastic stores (bit-shift registers) for jitter absorption at 1.544/2.048 MHz, while the 102 I/O pins routed parallel TDM streams cleanly to multiple framers. Card vendors like Dialogic, NMS, and Natural MicroSystems used this family extensively.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Front-End Signal Processing
Ultrasound beamformers and patient-monitor front-ends of the 2000s era used ACEX 1K FPGAs to implement FIR filters, decimators, and timing skew correction before handing data to DSP or CPU blocks. The EP1K50TI144-3's embedded array blocks were configured as coefficient ROMs for symmetric FIR filters, while general logic implemented timing-and-control state machines. Although not approved for new medical device designs, it remains in service for repair of existing FDA-cleared imaging carts where PCB redesign cost would exceed repair economics.
Recommended
Avionics and Military Databus Interfaces
MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, and RS-422 databus interface cards for legacy avionics and ground-vehicle platforms used ACEX 1K FPGAs as Manchester encoders, bus monitors, and protocol bridges. The EP1K50TI144-3 with its industrial -40 C to +85 C range met many ground-vehicle and sheltered-aircraft environmental profiles. Its JTAG configuration chain allowed in-system firmware updates in the field. Defense logistics agencies continue to source this part through QML/QPL-certified distributors for sustainment of deployed platforms.
Recommended
Educational FPGA Development Platforms
University digital-design courses and FPGA training labs used the EP1K50TI144-3 on Altera-developed UP2 and Nios development boards through the mid-2000s. Students learned state-machine design, bus interfacing, and pipelined datapath construction using MAX+PLUS II (the legacy Altera IDE that natively supports ACEX 1K). Hobbyists and professors maintaining these labs continue to source the EP1K50TI144-3 to repair and refurbish training boards, since modern Cyclone training kits require complete board replacement.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation Backplanes
Rack-mounted ATE (Automatic Test Equipment), data acquisition systems, and protocol analyzers used ACEX 1K FPGAs as timing-and-control sequencers that route stimulus and response signals between the DUT interface and the host CPU. The EP1K50TI144-3's 102 I/O pins allowed direct interfacing to 32-bit parallel stimulus buses plus handshaking, while the embedded RAM stored calibration constants and pattern sequences. Continued support of installed ATE bases in semiconductor fabs drives ongoing broker demand for this part.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1K50TI144-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1K50TI144-2 | EP1K50TI144-2N | EP1K50TI144-3F | EP1K30TI144-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | TQFP-144 | TQFP-144 - same | TQFP-144 - same | TQFP-144 - same | TQFP-144 - same |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Logic Elements | 2,880 | 2,880 (same) | 2,880 (same) | 2,880 (same) | 1,728 (-40%) |
| Speed Grade | -3 (~12.5 ns) | -2 (~10 ns, faster) | -2 (~10 ns, faster) | -3 (~12.5 ns, same) | -3 (~12.5 ns, same) |
| Typical Gates | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 30,000 (-40%) |
| Embedded RAM (bits) | 40,960 | 40,960 | 40,960 | 40,960 | 24,576 (-40%) |
| User I/O Pins | 102 | 102 | 102 | 102 | 102 (same package) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) | -40 C to +85 C (industrial) |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete (EOL) | Obsolete (EOL) | Obsolete (EOL) | Obsolete (EOL) | Obsolete (EOL) |
Key Differentiators
- Identical footprint across EP1K50 speed grades (vs EP1K50TI144-2)
- 40% more logic and RAM than EP1K30 family (vs EP1K30TI144-3)
- Established JTAG-based in-system programming (vs EOL FPGAs without JTAG)
Design Notes
Estimated: VCCINT (2.5 V core) at 100 MHz operation draws approximately 100-150 mA quiescent plus dynamic current proportional to toggle rate. Add at least four 0.1 µF ceramic decoupling capacitors (one near each corner of the TQFP-144 footprint) plus one 10 µF tantalum bulk capacitor on the VCCINT plane. The VCCIO bank supply (2.5 V or 3.3 V depending on interface) should have its own 0.1 µF and bulk caps. Use a power-valid reset supervisor to hold nCONFIG low until both rails reach their minimum thresholds, preventing partial-configuration corruption of the SRAM cells.
Estimated: the TQFP-144 package has θJA of approximately 35 °C/W on a 4-layer JEDEC test board. With VCCINT at 2.5 V, 100 MHz internal logic, and 60% toggle rate on typical I/O, junction temperature rise over ambient is approximately 15-25 °C - well within the -40 °C to +85 °C industrial limit, but designers should verify against worst-case ambient (e.g., +70 °C sealed enclosure) when the FPGA is one of several heat sources on the board. No heatsink is required under normal industrial conditions.
The TQFP-144 fine-pitch (0.5 mm) gull-wing package requires careful PCB layout: 4 mil (0.1 mm) trace-and-space rules, micro-via fanout if using any inner signal layers, and a continuous ground plane on layer 2 directly under the device for return-path integrity. Route all 102 user I/O signals on inner signal layers first, keeping outer layers for power and a few critical high-speed signals. JTAG chain (TCK/TMS/TDO/TDI) signals must be length-matched within ±50 mils for reliable boundary-scan operation across the full industrial temperature range.
Critical pitfall: ACEX 1K SRAM configuration is volatile, so power must be stable and monotonic at every power-up or the device will fail to configure correctly - always validate VCCINT monotonicity with an oscilloscope before production release. Another pitfall: MAX+PLUS II is required (or legacy Quartus II support for ACEX 1K) for compilation; modern Quartus Prime versions do not support ACEX 1K, so the design team must retain a copy of MAX+PLUS II or use legacy Quartus II v13.0. Finally, do not mix ACEX 1K VCCIO bank voltages across banks unless you fully understand the I/O standard matrix - mixing 2.5 V and 3.3 V banks adjacent on the same PCB requires strict sequencing.
Place the EPC configuration PROM (typically EPC2LC20) within 2 inches of the EP1K50TI144-3 to keep passive-serial DCLK and DATA traces short and impedance-controlled. Use a 4.7 kΩ pull-up on nCONFIG and a 1 kΩ pull-up on nSTATUS to VCCINT. Reserve a 4-pin header for the JTAG chain (TCK/TMS/TDO/TDI plus GND) at the board perimeter so Altera USB-Blaster or ByteBlaster can attach for in-system programming without removing the device from its socket.
Compliance Information
Compliance status not documented in retrieved sources. ACEX 1K family predates RoHS standardization; lead-free variants use 'N' suffix (e.g., EP1K50TI144-2N, EP1K50TI144-3N) and RoHS-compliant variants use 'F' suffix (e.g., EP1K50TI144-3F). Confirm with manufacturer documentation for each specific suffix variant.
