EP1M350B780C7 - 350K Gates Mercury FPGA, 780-Pin BGA | Altera
MPN: EP1M350B780C7 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $145 | $145.00 |
| 10 | $132 | $1,320.00 |
| 100 | $118 | $11,800.00 |
| 500 | $105 | $52,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $92 | $92,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1M350B780C7 — 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:
EP1M350B780C6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$125 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1M350B780C5
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$92.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1M350B780C7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Mercury (EP1M) |
| Equivalent System Gates | 350,000 gates |
| Package | 780-ball FineLine BGA |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| I/O Voltage Tolerance | 3.3 V |
| Transceivers | Multi-gigabit serial transceivers (up to 1.25 Gbps) |
| Logic Block Architecture | 4-input LUT-based fabric with embedded memory |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 C (per distributor datasheet) |
| Operating Temperature Range | Commercial (0C to +85C) - C grade suffix |
| Configuration Interface | Altera enhanced configuration devices + JTAG |
| Development Tool | Quartus II (legacy) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP1M350B780C7 780-ball fineline bga Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1M350B780C7 (780-ball 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 EP1M350B780C7.
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
EP1M350B780C7 is suitable for 6 applications: SONET/SDH Telecom Line Card, Multi-Gigabit Serial Backplane Bridge, Wireless Base Station DSP Co-Processor, High-Speed Protocol Bridge (PCI-X to RapidIO), Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Storage Area Network (SAN) Switch ASIC Replacement.
SONET/SDH Telecom Line Card
The EP1M350B780C7 is well suited to SONET/SDH OC-48 (STM-16) framer line cards because its integrated multi-gigabit transceivers reach 1.25 Gbps, which matches the OC-48 serial rate. The 350K system gates provide sufficient fabric for framer state machines, pointer processing, and overhead insertion/extraction logic, while the 780-ball BGA breaks out the multiple high-speed serial lanes required for protection switching. The Quartus II SOPC flow allows designers to embed a Nios processor for card-level management, replacing an external microcontroller. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, typical reference designs implement OC-48 plus lower-speed tributaries on a single Mercury device.
Recommended
Multi-Gigabit Serial Backplane Bridge
The EP1M350B780C7 serves as a backplane bridge between legacy parallel buses and high-speed serial links. Its transceiver channels support Aurora protocol or custom SERDES links up to 1.25 Gbps, while the abundant logic fabric implements bus conversion (e.g., PCI-X to RapidIO or parallel RapidIO to serial). The 780-ball BGA provides the routing escape for both legacy parallel bus pins and modern serial differential pairs. Compared with external SERDES chip solutions, integrating the transceivers reduces BOM cost and PCB area while improving signal integrity through shorter on-die paths.
Recommended
Wireless Base Station DSP Co-Processor
Wireless base station channel cards in 2G/3G eras paired DSP co-processors with baseband processors to handle chip-rate processing, equalization, and forward error correction. The EP1M350B780C7's 350K gates and embedded RAM blocks execute correlators, FFT cores, and Viterbi decoders efficiently. The 1.5 V core lowers power per gate compared with older 5 V FPGAs, critical for densely populated base station racks. The device's JTAG configuration interface supports field firmware upgrades as 3GPP standards evolved. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, the fabric's deterministic timing simplifies timing closure for chip-rate signal paths.
Recommended
High-Speed Protocol Bridge (PCI-X to RapidIO)
The EP1M350B780C7 is commonly used as a bridge between processor buses (PCI-X, local bus) and serial interconnect fabrics like RapidIO or Serial RapidIO. The Mercury transceivers handle the physical layer while the 350K gates implement the transport layer, logical layer, and DMA engines. The 780-ball BGA provides ample user I/O for the parallel processor-side bus plus the serial link side. The Quartus II design flow includes reference designs for RapidIO endpoints and PCI-X target/initiator cores, reducing development time.
Recommended
Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP1M350B780C7 powers high-channel-count test and measurement platforms such as logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, and ATE pin electronics. The Mercury fabric implements timing generators, pattern sequencers, and result comparators in parallel, while the multi-gigabit transceivers connect to high-speed probe interfaces. The 780-ball BGA provides the I/O density needed for hundreds of parallel test channels. The C-grade commercial temperature range (0C to +85C) covers laboratory and factory-floor environments, per the EP1M350 datasheet.
Recommended
Storage Area Network (SAN) Switch ASIC Replacement
The EP1M350B780C7 was deployed in early Fibre Channel SAN switches where the integrated transceivers at 1.0625 Gbps matched 1GFC line rate. The 350K gates implemented cut-through switching fabric, port state machines, and Simple Name Server logic. Compared with a fixed-function ASIC, the FPGA approach allowed rapid feature additions and bug fixes via JTAG bitstream updates. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, the Mercury family's deterministic latency supports cut-through switching requirements where store-and-forward delay is unacceptable.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1M350B780C7 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1M350B780C6 | EP1M350B780C5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 780-ball FineLine BGA | 780-ball FineLine BGA - same | 780-ball FineLine BGA - same |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| System Gates | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 |
| Speed Grade | -7 (fastest) | -6 (mid) | -5 (slowest) |
| Transceiver Max Rate | 1.25 Gbps | 1.0 Gbps (typical for -6 grade) | 0.8 Gbps (typical for -5 grade) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (C grade) | 0C to +85C (C grade) | 0C to +85C (C grade) |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 C | 220 C | 220 C |
| Approximate Unit Price (1 pc) | $145 | $130 (estimated, typically lower than -7) | $115 (estimated, lowest cost grade) |
Key Differentiators
- Integrated multi-gigabit transceivers (1.25 Gbps) (vs EP1K100FC484-1 (ACEX 1K, no transceivers))
- Higher logic density than lower-density Mercury variants (vs EP1M120F484C7 (Mercury 120K))
- Same-package family enables speed grade binning without PCB rework (vs EP1M350B780C5 (slowest grade))
Design Notes
The 780-ball FineLine BGA has limited PCB heat dissipation capability. Estimated: at full fabric utilization (~80% toggle rate) with the multi-gigabit transceivers active, total power consumption reaches approximately 3-5 W depending on clock tree and I/O toggle activity. A multi-layer PCB with dedicated inner power planes and thermal vias beneath the BGA is required to keep junction temperature within the 0C to +85C commercial range. Avoid placing the device near board edges where thermal relief is poor.
Route the multi-gigabit transceiver differential pairs first, before any other signals. Maintain 100 ohm differential impedance with length matching to within 150 mil per the EP1M350 datasheet transceiver guidelines. Keep the serial traces on the top signal layer with a continuous reference plane directly beneath (no plane splits). Use AC-coupling capacitors of 10 nF at the serial transmit pins. Provide 4-layer PCB minimum with controlled impedance stack-up.
The Mercury EP1M350 family predates many modern FPGA features: there is no hard PCIe IP, no hard memory controller, no high-speed ADC. All such functions must be implemented in fabric or external. Also, configuration bitstream loading uses the legacy enhanced configuration or passive serial scheme, NOT modern active serial (AS) mode. Per the EP1M350 datasheet, designers must use Altera EPC16 or EPC8 configuration devices (also NRND). Plan for migration to Stratix/Cyclone if new design.
Place 0.1 uF decoupling capacitors as close as possible to every power pin of the BGA, with short, wide traces. Use a power plane cutout around the BGA to minimize inductance; supply all VCC pins via the inner planes, not traces. Provide isolated analog supply (VCCA_PLL) for each PLL region with its own ferrite bead and decoupling. The JTAG chain must include all devices on the board in series with 4.7 kohm pull-ups on TCK, TMS, and TDI per IEEE 1149.1.
Compliance Information
RoHS, REACH, lead-free, and halogen-free status for the Mercury family vary by date code. The Mercury EP1M350 family was originally released before RoHS mandates, with later production runs typically re-qualified. Confirm per lot certificate of conformance. AEC-Q100 not applicable for FPGA logic devices. For new automotive designs use Cyclone IV E/GX or later automotive-qualified Intel FPGA families.
