EPM9560RC304C-3 - MAX 9000 CPLD, 560 Macrocells, 304-Pin RBGGA | Altera
MPN: EPM9560RC304C-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185 | $185.00 |
| 10 | $165 | $1,650.00 |
| 100 | $140 | $14,000.00 |
| 500 | $118 | $59,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $95 | $95,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EPM9560RC304C-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:
EPM9560RC304-15
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$9.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304-10
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$17.6 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304-20
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Contact for price
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304-2
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$55 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304-20N
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Contact for price
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304-2N
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$149 / Unit
View Datasheet →EPM9560RC304C-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | MAX 9000 |
| Device Type | CPLD (EPLD) |
| Macrocells (Logic Elements) | 560 |
| Usable Gates | 12,000 |
| Package | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic Ball Grid Array) |
| Pin Count | 304 |
| User I/O Pins | 212 |
| Speed Grade | -3 (3 ns pin-to-pin, commercial) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +70 C (Commercial) |
| Supply Voltage | 5 V |
| Programmability | In-system, non-volatile EEPROM |
| JTAG Support | IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan |
| Logic Blocks | Logic Array Blocks (LABs) with PIA interconnect |
| RoHS Status | unknown (legacy part, pre-RoHS era) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EPM9560RC304C-3 rbgga-304 (ceramic ball grid array) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EPM9560RC304C-3 (rbgga-304 (ceramic ball grid array) package) with 212 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 EPM9560RC304C-3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 212 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
EPM9560RC304C-3 is suitable for 6 applications: Legacy Telecom Backplane Glue Logic, Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Address Decoding for Microprocessor Systems, Bus Interface Bridging (PCI / VME / ISA), Replacement of Discrete TTL/CMOS Glue Logic, Legacy Avionics and Military Systems.
Legacy Telecom Backplane Glue Logic
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is well suited to legacy telecom backplane glue-logic applications where it implements wide bus decoding, address mapping, and protocol-bridging functions between line cards and backplane connectors. With 212 user I/O pins and 12,000 usable gates, it can replace dozens of discrete 74-series TTL/CMOS parts in a single 304-pin BGA footprint, simplifying PCB layout and improving signal-integrity by eliminating long point-to-point traces. The device's 3 ns pin-to-pin delay enables clock-domain crossings and fast bus arbitration. As telecom systems have multi-decade service lives, the EPM9560RC304C-3 remains in active deployment in legacy ATM, SONET, and TDM switching equipment.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is widely used in industrial control and factory automation systems where its non-volatile EEPROM configuration eliminates the need for external boot PROMs and guarantees instant-on deterministic behavior at power-up. The 304-pin ceramic BGA package provides mechanical robustness against vibration and thermal cycling typical in factory environments, while the 0 C to +70 C commercial temperature grade covers most indoor control cabinets. The device implements PLC scan-engine glue logic, motor-control PWM gating, encoder decoding, and fieldbus (Profibus, Modbus) interface bridging. Legacy PLC and CNC systems continue to use EPM9560 parts because the design has been qualified for 10-20 year service lives.
Recommended
Address Decoding for Microprocessor Systems
The EPM9560RC304C-3 implements address decoding and chip-select generation for 32-bit and 64-bit microprocessor and DSP systems, replacing 5-10 discrete decoder/PLD chips with a single high-density CPLD. The 212 user I/O count supports multiple parallel chip-selects with separate enable and wait-state signals, while the 3 ns propagation delay is comfortably within a 33-50 MHz system-clock budget. The MAX 9000 architecture's deterministic timing model and per-output macrocell registers enable precise control of address-to-chip-select latency. Industrial PCs, embedded SBCs, and DSP evaluation boards used this device heavily during the Pentium-III / PowerPC era and many such systems remain in service.
Recommended
Bus Interface Bridging (PCI / VME / ISA)
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is used as a bus-interface bridge between PCI, VME, ISA, and local-processor buses in legacy embedded systems, arbitrating bus requests, generating interrupt vectors, and implementing DMA handshaking. The high I/O count (212 pins) and 3 ns tPD make it capable of supporting 33 MHz PCI bus cycles, while the 5 V I/O is directly compatible with classic PCI signaling levels. The MAX 9000 family was a popular choice for PCI bridge designs in the late 1990s because of its deterministic timing and in-system programmability for late-stage board bring-up fixes. Military and avionics VMEbus systems also deployed this part heavily.
Recommended
Replacement of Discrete TTL/CMOS Glue Logic
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is frequently used to consolidate 20-50 discrete 74LS, 74HC, 74FCT, and 74ABT logic chips into a single programmable device, dramatically reducing PCB area, power consumption, and assembly cost. With 12,000 usable gates, designers can absorb entire boards of random logic, muxes, latches, and small state machines. The MAX 9000 architecture preserves the in-system reprogrammability that designers relied on to fix logic bugs without board rework. Legacy designs in instrumentation, medical imaging, and military radios used this consolidation strategy extensively during the 1990s CPLD boom and remain in production today.
Recommended
Legacy Avionics and Military Systems
The EPM9560RC304C-3 in its ceramic BGA (RBGGA) package is qualified for many legacy avionics, military, and aerospace platforms where its hermetic ceramic packaging, wide operating temperature, and long-proven reliability are mandatory. The RBGGA package is preferred over plastic BGA in these applications for resistance to humidity, mechanical shock, and outgassing. Such systems are fielded for 20-30 year service lives, requiring long-term spare-part support. The EPM9560RC304C-3 has been deployed in radar signal processing, flight control computers, electronic warfare systems, and secure communications equipment. Cross-brand drop-in equivalents are not commonly available for military-qualified ceramic-BGA CPLDs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EPM9560RC304C-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EPM9560RC304-15 | EPM9560RC304-10 | EPM9560RC304-20 | EPM9560RC304-2 | EPM9560RC304-2N | EPM9560RC304-20N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same | RBGGA-304 (Ceramic BGA) - same |
| Macrocells | 560 | 560 | 560 | 560 | 560 | 560 | 560 |
| Usable Gates | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 |
| Speed Grade (tPD) | 3 ns | 15 ns | 10 ns | 20 ns | 2 ns | 2 ns (lead-free) | 20 ns (lead-free) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +70 C (Commercial) | Industrial (extended) | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial | Commercial |
| User I/O Pins | 212 | 212 | 212 | 212 | 212 | 212 | 212 |
| RoHS / Lead-Free Status | Unknown (legacy ceramic BGA) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Lead-free solder balls (N suffix) | Lead-free solder balls (N suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-speed (-3, 3 ns tPD) MAX 9000 family variant in 304-pin ceramic BGA (vs EPM9560RC304-15)
- Ceramic BGA (RBGGA) for high-reliability applications (vs EPM9560ABC356-10)
- Largest density in MAX 9000 family (560 macrocells / 12,000 gates) (vs EPM9480RC240-20)
Design Notes
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is an obsolete part with no active factory production. When designing new boards or maintaining legacy systems, always qualify at least one slower speed-grade variant (e.g., EPM9560RC304-10 or EPM9560RC304-15) as a backup drop-in alternative in case the -3 variant becomes unavailable. The pinout is identical across speed grades; only the Quartus / MAX+PLUS II timing model needs to be recompiled. Slower grades are typically more available on the secondary market than the fastest -3 grade.
The 304-pin ceramic BGA (RBGGA) package has a different thermal-resistance profile than plastic BGA packages - typically theta-JA of 15-25 C/W with a proper thermal via array on the PCB. For high-utilization designs where all 560 macrocells toggle simultaneously, the junction temperature can rise substantially. Designers should follow Altera's recommended PCB footprint including a thermal-ball pattern and at least 4 thermal vias under the die, even though the RBGGA package is hermetic. Industrial-temperature variants (e.g., EPM9560RC304-15) are recommended for environments above 70 C.
The 304-ball ceramic BGA requires a precise PCB land pattern with non-solder-mask-defined (NSMD) pads of approximately 0.6 mm diameter and 1.0 mm pitch. The PCB must be designed with at least 6 layers, with dedicated ground and power planes under the BGA to provide low-impedance returns for the 212 high-speed I/O signals. Signal traces should be length-matched within 2-3 mm if used as bus-interface signals. Do not route signals through the BGA pin field - escape routes should fan out to the perimeter before any horizontal routing.
Compliance Information
The EPM9560RC304C-3 is a legacy part released in the 1990s, before RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC took effect. RoHS/REACH compliance is unknown because the part is no longer actively maintained by Altera/Intel. N-suffix variants (e.g., EPM9560RC304-20N) indicate lead-free solder balls but full RoHS compliance of the ceramic BGA substrate is not certified. AEC-Q100 does not apply as this is not an automotive-qualified part.
