EPF81500AQC240-3 - FLEX 8000 FPGA 16K Gates 240-PQFP | Altera
MPN: EPF81500AQC240-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $38.5 | $38.50 |
| 10 | $34.2 | $342.00 |
| 100 | $28.9 | $2,890.00 |
| 500 | $24.5 | $12,250.00 |
| 1,000 | $21.75 | $21,750.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EPF81500AQC240-3 — 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:
EPF81500AQC240-3N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EPF81500AQC240-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$61.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF81500AQC240-2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$18.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPF81500AQC240-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | FLEX 8000 |
| Logic Elements / Gates | 1296 logic elements, up to 16,000 usable gates |
| Registers | 1500 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 162 |
| User I/Os | 181 |
| Propagation Delay | 1.7 ns |
| Supply Voltage | 4.75 V to 5.25 V |
| Logic Family | CMOS SRAM |
| Process Technology | 0.42 um CMOS |
| Package | 240-BFQFP (240-PQFP, 32x32 mm) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 70 C (Commercial) |
| Configuration Method | SRAM, loaded at power-up via EPC1/EPC1064/EPC1213/EPC1441 or parallel EPROM |
EPF81500AQC240-3 240-bfqfp (240-pqfp, 32x32 mm) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EPF81500AQC240-3 (240-bfqfp (240-pqfp, 32x32 mm) 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 EPF81500AQC240-3.
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
EPF81500AQC240-3 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Line Card Glue Logic, ASIC Prototyping (up to 16K gates), PCI Bus Interface Glue Logic, Industrial Control Logic Consolidation, Legacy Microprocessor Peripheral Integration, Datacom Peripheral Glue and Bridging.
Telecom Line Card Glue Logic
The EPF81500AQC240-3 is well-suited for telecom line card designs where 5V CMOS-compatible glue logic must consolidate bus arbitration, framing, and timing functions. Its 1296 logic elements and 1500 registers handle state-machine-intensive protocols (HDLC, UART bridges) at line-card clock rates. The 181 user I/Os interface to multiple bus segments and PHY devices without external bus-switching logic. Unlike modern FPGAs, the 5V tolerance allows direct connection to legacy line-interface ICs without level shifters.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping (up to 16K gates)
Engineers used the EPF81500AQC240-3 as a fast-turnaround prototype platform for ASIC designs in the 8K-16K gate range. Its register-rich architecture (1500 flip-flops across 162 LABs) maps cleanly to control-logic-heavy ASICs, allowing verification of state machines, FIFO controllers, and bus bridges before committing to NRE mask charges. The 240-PQFP package exposes enough I/Os (181) to replicate most ASIC pinouts, and SRAM-based configurability enables rapid design-iteration cycles of minutes rather than weeks.
Recommended
PCI Bus Interface Glue Logic
The EPF81500AQC240-3 supports PCI-compliant 5V/33 MHz bus interfaces, making it a popular choice for bridging PCI to legacy peripheral buses (ISA, VME, local processor buses). Its 181 user I/Os comfortably accommodate a 32-bit PCI bus plus side-band signals and target-side glue. The 5V I/O tolerance matches PCI 5V signaling directly. Designers implement target/master state machines, parity generation, and interrupt handling in the 1296 logic elements, eliminating discrete 74-series logic arrays.
Recommended
Industrial Control Logic Consolidation
Industrial controller designs leveraged the EPF81500AQC240-3 to replace dozens of discrete 74LS/74HC glue-logic ICs with a single programmable device, reducing board area and improving reliability. The 16,000 usable gates handle combinational and sequential control logic for PLCs, motor controllers, and HMI interfaces. The commercial 0-70 C temperature range suits enclosure-protected industrial environments. The 5V tolerance interfaces directly to industrial sensor and actuator signal-conditioning chains.
Recommended
Legacy Microprocessor Peripheral Integration
Designers used the EPF81500AQC240-3 to integrate the many peripheral functions (memory controller, DMA, interrupt controller, address decoding) required around 80x86, 68k, and MIPS microprocessors of the 1990s. Its register-rich architecture mapped well to control/status register banks, while the 240-PQFP's 181 I/Os comfortably handled 32-bit address/data buses plus chip-select, wait-state, and interrupt signals. SRAM-based configurability enabled post-production bug fixes via in-system reprogramming.
Recommended
Datacom Peripheral Glue and Bridging
Datacom routers, switches, and access multiplexers of the late 1990s and early 2000s used the EPF81500AQC240-3 to bridge between custom ASICs, network processors, and standard bus interfaces. The device's 181 user I/Os provide ample connections for multiple serial datastreams, status LEDs, and configuration EEPROMs, while the 1500 registers handle cell/packet processing state machines. The 240-PQFP package with exposed leads allowed conventional SMT assembly without BGA X-ray inspection costs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPF81500AQC240-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPF81500AQC240-3N | EPF81500AQC240-2 | EPF81500AQC240-2N | EPF81500AGC280-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 240-BFQFP (240-PQFP, 32x32 mm) | 240-BFQFP - same | 240-BFQFP - same | 240-BFQFP - same | 280-PGA - different |
| Speed Grade | -3 (fastest) | -3 (same speed grade) | -2 (slower) | -2 (slower) | -3 (same speed grade) |
| Terminal Finish | SnPb (non-RoHS) | Lead-free (RoHS) | SnPb (non-RoHS) | Lead-free (RoHS) | SnPb (non-RoHS) |
| Logic Elements | 1296 | 1296 | 1296 | 1296 | 1296 |
| Usable Gates | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 |
| Registers | 1500 | 1500 | 1500 | 1500 | 1500 |
| User I/Os | 181 | 181 | 181 | 181 | [DATA_NEEDED: I/O count for 280-PGA] |
| Supply Voltage | 4.75 V to 5.25 V | 4.75 V to 5.25 V | 4.75 V to 5.25 V | 4.75 V to 5.25 V | 4.75 V to 5.25 V |
Key Differentiators
- Speed grade -3 is the fastest bin within the FLEX 8000 family (vs EPF81500AQC240-2)
- SnPb terminal finish - compatible with legacy non-RoHS assembly lines (vs EPF81500AQC240-3N)
- Same 240-PQFP package as the entire FLEX 8000 240-pin family (vs EPF81500AGC280-3)
Design Notes
The EPF81500AQC240-3 is SRAM-based, meaning it loses all configuration when power is removed. Unlike antifuse or flash FPGAs, you MUST provide a non-volatile boot source (EPC1, EPC1064, EPC1213, EPC1441 serial PROM, parallel EPROM, or microprocessor) that reloads configuration on every power-up. Forgetting this configuration memory is the single most common design mistake with FLEX 8000 - the device appears completely dead on first power-up if configuration data is missing.
The 240-PQFP package has gull-wing leads on 0.5 mm pitch. PCB layout requires careful escape routing and a continuous ground plane under the package for the 5V switching currents. Decoupling: place 0.1 uF ceramic caps adjacent to every VCC pin pair, plus bulk 10-100 uF tantalum or polymer caps near the package corners. The high pin count means signal-integrity simulations are recommended for buses faster than 33 MHz to control simultaneous-switching noise.
Estimated: At 33 MHz toggle rate with 50% I/O utilization (approximately 90 outputs switching), the EPF81500AQC240-3 draws roughly 200-400 mA from the 5V rail during operation. Total 5V quiescent current (unconfigured) is specified under 50 mA typical. Configuration adds a brief inrush of approximately 200 mA during the parallel/serial boot phase; bulk decoupling must accommodate this without sagging the rail. Always check the configuration device's drive capability against the EPF81500AQC240-3's DCLK input loading.
The 5V CMOS I/O on the EPF81500AQC240-3 has limited drive strength (typically 4-8 mA per pin) compared to modern FPGAs. For buses with high capacitive loading (>50 pF), use external bus buffers (74FCT245, 74ABT244) rather than relying on direct FPGA drive. PCI-compliant 33 MHz signaling requires careful trace-impedance control (50-65 ohm microstrip or stripline) and series-damping resistors near the FPGA for signal-quality compliance.
Compliance Information
EPF81500AQC240-3 base part uses SnPb finish (non-RoHS). The -3N variant is RoHS-compliant / lead-free. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial-grade FPGA. REACH, halogen-free, and conflict-mineral declarations not located in verified web data.
