EP1M350B780C6 - 350K Gate Mercury FPGA 780-Pin BGA | Altera
MPN: EP1M350B780C6 β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185 | $185.00 |
| 10 | $168.5 | $1,685.00 |
| 100 | $152 | $15,200.00 |
| 500 | $138.75 | $69,375.00 |
| 1,000 | $125 | $125,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1M350B780C6 β same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP1M350B780C7
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$92 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1M350B780C5
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$92.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1M350B780C8
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1M350B780I6
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$145.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1M350B780C6N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1M350B780C6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Manufacturer | Altera Corporation (now Intel FPGA) |
| Family | Mercury PLD |
| Device Type | FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) |
| Typical Gate Count | 350,000 gates |
| Package | 780-pin FineLine BGA |
| User I/O Pins (approx.) | 488 |
| Speed Grade | -6 |
| I/O Standards | LVTTL, LVCMOS, LVDS (per family datasheet) |
| Embedded Transceivers | High-speed serial transceivers (Mercury family feature) |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 C (per distributor records) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Programming Interface | JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) + Altera passive serial/AS modes |
| Tool Flow | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II (Altera legacy) |
| Datasheet File Size | 869 Kbytes (per Alldatasheet index) |
| Datasheet Page Count | 86 pages (per Alldatasheet index) |
EP1M350B780C6 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin A2 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin A3 | VCCIO β I/O supply voltage (per bank) |
| Pin A4 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin A5 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin B1 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin B2 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage |
| Pin B3 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin B4 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin B5 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin C1 | VCCIO β I/O supply voltage (per bank) |
| Pin C2 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin C3 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin C4 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage |
| Pin C5 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin D1 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin D2 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin D3 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin D4 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage |
| Pin D5 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin E1 | VCCIO β I/O supply voltage (per bank) |
| Pin E2 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin E3 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage |
| Pin E4 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin E5 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin F1 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin F2 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
| Pin F3 | GND β Ground reference for I/O bank |
| Pin F4 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage |
| Pin F5 | I/O β User I/O - bank assignment per Quartus Pin Planner |
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
EP1M350B780C6 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Line-Card Aggregation, High-Speed Protocol Bridging, Industrial Machine-Vision Frame Grabber, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Front-End, Legacy ASIC Replacement, High-Throughput Signal-Processing Prototypes.
Telecom Line-Card Aggregation
The EP1M350B780C6 fits telecom line-card aggregation designs because its Mercury-family architecture integrates high-speed serial transceivers (up to 1.25 Gbps per channel) alongside 350K gates of LUT-based logic fabric. The device handles POS-PHY Level 2 / SPI 4.2 / UTOPIA interfaces commonly used in legacy SONET/SDH and Ethernet-over-SONET line cards. Placed on the line-interface card, the FPGA aggregates multiple lower-speed serial links into a single high-speed trunk while performing framing, scrambling, and pointer-processing operations in hardware. With 488 user I/O pins it can sustain dozens of parallel tributary interfaces without external glue logic. Designers benefit from deterministic timing closure on the embedded PLLs versus software-polling microcontroller approaches.
Recommended
High-Speed Protocol Bridging
The EP1M350B780C6 is well suited as a protocol bridge between SPI 4.2, UTOPIA, PCI, and proprietary backplane interfaces because the 350K-gate Mercury logic fabric supports deep FIFO buffering and parallel datapath operations. In a typical bridge, the FPGA receives packets on one interface, performs rate-matching and protocol translation in embedded EAB-based dual-port RAM, and re-emits them on a different interface with sub-microsecond latency. The 780-pin BGA exposes sufficient I/O to support 32-bit or 64-bit wide datapaths alongside multiple clock domains. Its embedded PLLs provide the multiple frequency synthesis needed when bridging between asynchronous clock domains. Trade-off versus an ASIC: the FPGA delivers NRE-free development but dissipates more power at equivalent throughput.
Recommended
Industrial Machine-Vision Frame Grabber
The EP1M350B780C6 serves industrial machine-vision frame-grabber designs where Camera Link or LVDS-based image sensors stream multi-megapixel frames into the FPGA. The Mercury family's LVDS I/O capability supports Camera Link base/medium/full configurations, while 350K gates provide real-time image preprocessing - Bayer demosaicing, gain/white-balance correction, edge detection - at line rates beyond 80 MHz. The embedded EABs buffer full frames in on-chip dual-port RAM, freeing the host CPU from raw-pixel DMA burden. With 488 user I/Os the FPGA can directly drive a Camera Link connector plus auxiliary GPIO for trigger and strobe signals. Industrial machine builders value the deterministic latency over software-based pipelines.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Front-End
The EP1M350B780C6 enables SDR front-end designs where digitized IF or baseband signals must be channelized, filtered, and demodulated in programmable hardware. The Mercury family's high-speed serial transceivers accept ADC data at hundreds of megahertz, while the LUT fabric implements digital down-conversion, FIR filtering, and symbol-rate conversion. The 350K-gate capacity supports 64-tap or 128-tap polyphase filter banks that would be impractical in a CPLD. SDR designers appreciate the deterministic timing and the ability to reconfigure the same hardware for different waveforms (GSM, WCDMA, WiMAX) without board respins. Trade-off: the -6 speed grade balances logic throughput against power, making it preferable for thermally constrained embedded chassis.
Recommended
Legacy ASIC Replacement
The EP1M350B780C6 frequently replaces obsolete ASICs in long-lifecycle defence, aerospace, and industrial control systems where the original ASIC is no longer mask-programmable. The 350K-gate Mercury fabric maps directly onto most mid-complexity ASIC netlists via Altera's Quartus II synthesis flow, preserving the original RTL investment. Designers retain the same firmware base while gaining the flexibility of field-programmable logic - useful for late-stage bug fixes or feature additions. With 488 user I/O pins and embedded EAB memory, the FPGA typically matches or exceeds the I/O and memory resources of the original ASIC. The NRND status of the EP1M350B780C6 must be balanced against the long-term supportability benefit versus a board-level migration to Cyclone IV.
Recommended
High-Throughput Signal-Processing Prototypes
The EP1M350B780C6 is widely used in research-lab prototypes for radar, sonar, and medical-imaging signal processing where algorithms evolve faster than ASIC tape-out cycles. The 350K-gate capacity supports FFT, convolver, and matrix-multiply datapaths operating at hundreds of MHz, while the embedded EABs implement windowing buffers and twiddle-factor ROMs. The 780-pin BGA exposes enough I/O to interface directly with high-speed ADCs and DACs, eliminating external bus-driver chips. Researchers value the deterministic timing and the ability to re-spin algorithm revisions in software within hours. Trade-off versus modern Stratix 10 / Agilex devices: the EP1M350B780C6 lacks DSP blocks and modern transceivers, so it suits mid-complexity prototyping rather than bleeding-edge designs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1M350B780C6 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1M350B780C7 | EP1M350B780C5 | EP1M350B780C8 | EP1M350B780I6 | EP1M350B780C6N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | 780-pin FineLine BGA | 780-pin FineLine BGA - same | 780-pin FineLine BGA - same | 780-pin FineLine BGA - same | 780-pin FineLine BGA - same | 780-pin FineLine BGA - same |
| Speed Grade | -6 | -7 (faster Fmax) | -5 (slower Fmax, lower leakage) | -8 (slowest, lowest leakage) | -6 (industrial temp) | -6 (lead-free) |
| Typical Gates | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Industrial (-40 C to +100 C) | Commercial |
| Lead-Free Reflow | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | Yes (lead-free variant) |
| Lifecycle Status | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND |
| Tool Flow | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II | Quartus II / MAX+PLUS II |
Key Differentiators
- Balanced -6 speed grade (vs EP1M350B780C7)
- Commercial temperature range (vs EP1M350B780I6)
- Mercury-family high-speed transceivers (vs EP1K100FC484-2 (ACEX family))
Design Notes
The EP1M350B780C6 requires multiple separate power rails (VCCINT for core, VCCIO per I/O bank, VCC_PLL for phase-locked loops, and VCC_TX/RX for embedded transceivers). Per Altera Mercury reference designs, sequence the core supply first, then I/O banks, then PLLs; releasing I/O tri-state before VCCINT ramps can cause latch-up. Decouple each rail with 0.1 uF X7R ceramic capacitors placed within 5 mm of the respective BGA balls, plus bulk 47-100 uF tantalum or polymer caps on each supply island. Estimated: total static current at 350K-gate utilization typically runs 0.8-1.2 A on VCCINT plus I/O-dependent current on VCCIO; verify with Quartus PowerPlay early in the design.
The 780-pin FineLine BGA exposes a centre thermal pad array that must be soldered to a copper pour on the PCB for adequate heat removal. Per typical Altera BGA thermal guidance, the EP1M350B780C6 has theta_JA in the 8-12 C/W range when the centre balls are soldered to a 4-layer 1 oz copper PCB. Estimated: at full Mercury utilization the device can dissipate 4-6 W; ensure the chassis airflow or heatsink can absorb this continuous dissipation. For -6 speed grade, the static leakage is moderate - lower than -7 but higher than -8 - so thermal budgeting should target the worst-case commercial operating temperature.
Use 8-layer or 10-layer stack-up with dedicated ground and power planes for the 780-pin BGA footprint. Route differential pairs (LVDS) with 100 ohm differential impedance and matched length tolerance under 150 mil across pairs. Use blind/buried vias or micro-vias under the BGA to fan out signals without crowding the breakout region. For embedded transceiver channels, isolate TX/RX differential pairs with ground-fill keep-outs and stitch the ground plane with via fences every lambda/20. Place the JTAG header within 50 mm of the device to keep programming cables short.
Do not assume that any Mercury-family EP1M350 device is drop-in compatible - some variants change VCCINT requirements or PLL supply topology between speed grades. Verify the specific datasheet revision before substituting -5, -6, -7, or -8 grades. Watch for I/O bank VCCIO compatibility when interfacing to 5 V TTL legacy buses - the Mercury family supports LVTTL but requires level-shifters for true 5 V tolerance. Confirm configuration mode (passive serial vs JTAG vs Altera AS) before board bring-up; a misconfigured MSEL pin sequence will leave the FPGA in an undefined state.
Place configuration flash memory (EPCS4/EPCS16) within 25 mm of the FPGA to minimize configuration-clock skew on the DCLK/ASDO path. Keep JTAG TMS/TCK/TDO/TDI traces impedance-controlled to 50 ohm single-ended. Isolate clock inputs (CLK0..CLK3) from high-speed I/O to reduce jitter injection; use guard traces or GND shields. For embedded transceiver channels, route TX-to-RX on different PCB layers to minimize crosstalk, and keep reference-clock traces away from switching power-supply nodes by at least 5 mm.
Compliance Information
RoHS, lead-free, and halogen-free status are not explicitly stated in the Verified Web Data for EP1M350B780C6. Peak reflow temperature of 220 C is consistent with lead-free SMT profiles, but explicit RoHS compliance and halogen-free declarations are not available in the provided data. AEC-Q100 is not applicable as this is a commercial-grade FPGA. Conflict-minerals compliance is unknown.
