XC6SLX16-3FTG256C - Spartan-6 LX FPGA, 14k LCs, 256-FTBGA | AMD
MPN: XC6SLX16-3FTG256C ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $42.5 | $42.50 |
| 10 | $38.95 | $389.50 |
| 100 | $32.1 | $3,210.00 |
| 500 | $27.8 | $13,900.00 |
| 1,000 | $24.5 | $24,500.00 |
XC6SLX16-3FTG256C Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a programmable logic device that lets engineers implement arbitrary digital circuits using configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable I/Os, on-chip memory, and dedicated hard IP such as transceivers, DSP slices, and clock management tiles. FPGAs are part of the programmable logic hierarchy alongside CPLDs and sit between discrete logic and ASICs in system design trade-offs.
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C features 1139 CLBs, 32 DSP48A1 slices, two clock management tiles (CMTs) with mixed-mode clock managers (MMCMs) and PLLs, and SelectIO high-performance I/O supporting LVDS, LVCMOS, LVTTL, SSTL, and HSTL standards across 8 I/O banks. The -3 speed grade targets high-performance designs with up to 667 MHz internal clocking.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video processing pipelines, automotive driver assistance, low-cost wireline aggregation, and embedded control systems. Its small 17 x 17 mm BGA footprint suits cost-sensitive high-volume designs.
Design tips: pay careful attention to the banked I/O supply pins (VCCO), keep the auxiliary supply VCCAUX at 2.5 V to 3.3 V, and use the -C commercial temperature grade (0 C to +85 C) only inside chassis environments.
This page aggregates DigiKey/Mouser distributor pricing, same-footprint alternatives in the Spartan-6 family, and 45 nm power-rail guidance not found in the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for XC6SLX16-3FTG256C — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with XC6SLX16-3FTG256C (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Operating Temperature, Package, Speed Grade, Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs), Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
XC6SLX16-3FTG256I
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$24.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →XC6SLX16-2FTG256C
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$16.4063 / Unit
View Datasheet →XC6SLX16-1FTG256C
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
XC6SLX16-3FTG256Q
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
XC6SLX45-2FTG256C
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
XC6SLX25-3FTG256C
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
XC6SLX16-3FTG256C Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Spartan-6 LX |
| Series | XC6SLX16 |
| Logic Cells | 14,579 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 1139 |
| Distributed RAM | 256 kbit |
| DSP48A1 Slices | 32 |
| Maximum User I/Os | 186 |
| Number of CMTs | 2 |
| Process Technology | 45 nm CMOS |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.2 V |
| Auxiliary Voltage (VCCAUX) | 2.5 V to 3.3 V |
| Speed Grade | -3 |
| Package | 256-LBGA / FTBGA-256, 17 x 17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to +85 C (Commercial) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
XC6SLX16-3FTG256C Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | IO_L1N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O (also config) |
| Pin A2 | IO_L1P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin A3 | IO_L2N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin A4 | IO_L2P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin B1 | IO_L3N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin B2 | IO_L3P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin B3 | IO_L4N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin B4 | IO_L4P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin C1 | IO_L5N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin C2 | IO_L5P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin C3 | IO_L6N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin C4 | IO_L6P_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin D1 | IO_L7N_0 — Bank 0 user I/O |
| Pin D2 | VCCO_0 — Bank 0 I/O supply |
| Pin D3 | VCCO_0 — Bank 0 I/O supply |
| Pin D4 | VCCO_0 — Bank 0 I/O supply |
| Pin E1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin E2 | VCCINT — Core supply (1.2 V) |
| Pin E3 | VCCINT — Core supply (1.2 V) |
| Pin E4 | GND — Ground |
Typical Applications
XC6SLX16-3FTG256C is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing Pipeline, Automotive Driver Assistance ADAS, Low-Cost Wireline Aggregation, Embedded Control and Custom IO, Test and Measurement Instrumentation Front End.
Industrial Motor Control
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C is well suited to industrial motor drive control because its 32 DSP48A1 slices implement field-oriented control (FOC) loops, its two CMTs generate the PWM carrier and quadrature-decoder sampling clocks, and the 256-FTBGA footprint exposes 186 user I/Os for Hall sensors and resolver interfaces. Compared with DSP-only solutions the LX16 provides lower latency on current-loop closure and deterministic CMT-driven PWM at up to 667 MHz fabric clock. Place VCCINT at 1.2 V and per-bank VCCO at 3.3 V on a multilayer PCB; the C-grade temperature range is appropriate for chassis-internal drives.
Recommended
Video Processing Pipeline
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C delivers cost-effective video processing for surveillance and machine-vision front ends. The SelectIO banks handle HDMI/LVDS/RGB input streams, while 32 DSP slices provide the throughput for de-interlacing and color-space conversion at rates that exceed a micro-controller alone. Compared with an ASSP, the LX16 retains flexibility for protocol changes mid-product-cycle. Use two CMTs to produce independent pixel and memory clocks and add DDR3 SDRAM for line/frame buffer. The 17 x 17 mm BGA keeps the video-board footprint small enough for 720p display modules.
Recommended
Automotive Driver Assistance ADAS
For automotive ECU and ADAS front-end pre-processing, the XC6SLX16-3FTG256C (or the Q-grade variant) integrates object-tracking filters, sensor-fusion glue logic, and CAN-FD bridging between cameras and the central ECU. The 256-FTBGA exposes 186 user I/Os suitable for multi-camera links and the LX16 industrial temperature range makes chassis placement feasible. Compared with microcontrollers, the LX16 delivers deterministic hardware parallelism that is essential when the latency budget below one millisecond. Plan for automotive-grade decoupling and EMI filtering on the 1.2 V core rail.
Recommended
Low-Cost Wireline Aggregation
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C fits low-density wireline aggregation and protocol-conversion cards because the FTG256 17 x 17 mm BGA packs 186 I/Os that handle multiple SERDES or MII lanes and the LX16 logic-cell budget is comfortable for packet lookups, classifier engines, and basic 1588 timestamping. Compared with a CPU-heavy design, the LX16 gives line-rate latency guarantees. Two CMTs produce the recovered clocks from line-side PHY devices, and the SelectIO supports HSTL/SSTL LVDS for fiber-loop interfaces.
Recommended
Embedded Control and Custom IO
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C serves as a flexible embedded control FPGA when off-the-shelf micro-controllers fall short. The 14,579 logic cells absorb glue logic, custom peripheral controllers, and high-speed interfaces, while the 256-FTBGA footprint fits on 100 x 100 mm carrier boards. Compared with a CPLD, the LX16 supports distributed-RAM FIFOs, 32 DSP slices for math, and standard IP cores via ISE/Vivado legacy flows. Use the CMT to derive all system clocks from a single 50 MHz crystal and the SelectIO to mix 3.3 V and 1.8 V peripherals.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation Front End
The XC6SLX16-3FTG256C is also deployed in low-cost T&M front ends such as logic-analyzer probe heads, protocol-decoder pods, and reconfigurable digitizer pre-processors. The 256-FTBGA exposes 186 user I/Os to keep up with LVDS signal capture and the 32 DSP48A1 slices handle 200 MSPS decimation paths. Compared with a discrete GLUE solution, the LX16 reduces PCB layers and BOM; the SelectIO banks operate over LVDS, LVCMOS, and HSTL to support industry-standard logic-level probes. Plan for thermal relief on VCCINT at sustained high utilization.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for XC6SLX16-3FTG256C — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | XC6SLX16-3FTG256I | XC6SLX16-2FTG256C | XC6SLX16-1FTG256C | XC6SLX16-3FTG256Q | XC6SLX45-2FTG256C | XC6SLX25-3FTG256C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) | FTBGA-256 (17 x 17 mm) |
| Brand | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD | AMD |
| Logic Cells | 14,579 | 14,579 | 14,579 | 14,579 | 14,579 | 43,661 | 24,051 |
| Speed Grade | -3 | -3 | -2 | -1 | -3 | -2 | -3 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Industrial (-40 C to +100 C) | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Automotive Q-grade | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) |
| DSP48A1 Slices | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 58 | 38 |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic-cell density in FTBGA-256 of any Spartan-6 LX in the same footprint (vs XC6SLX9-3FTG256C)
- -3 speed grade delivers the highest Fmax within the Spartan-6 LX family (vs XC6SLX16-2FTG256C)
- Same FTBGA-256 footprint across the LX16 family enables drop-in migration from Spartan-6 to Spartan-7 board re-designs (vs XC6SLX16-3FT256C)
Design Notes
The VCCINT rail must be a clean 1.2 V at up to 600 mA typical for the LX16 worst-case design. Use a low-noise LDO (e.g. TPS7A4501 family) when the upstream is a switching converter, or a high-efficiency buck regulator when powered from a 3.3 V or 5 V rail. Decouple every VCCINT ball with at least one 100 nF X7R capacitor per ball plus a 10 uF bulk capacitor; place the bulk cap within 25 mm of the balls. Estimated: at 100% fabric utilization with 32 DSP slices active the LX16 can draw 350-500 mA from VCCINT, so a 1 A-rated LDO gives safe margin.
The 17 x 17 mm FTBGA-256 uses 1.0 mm pitch. Use a 6- or 8-layer PCB with 4 mil laser-drilled micro-vias for BGA breakout; route single-ended signals on the outermost layer below the ball pads only in escape regions, then move to internal stripline layers for impedance-controlled runs. Keep differential pairs length-matched within 5 ps for LVDS. Place ground fills under the BGA on layer 2 to shorten VCCINT return paths and meet the Spartan-6 ds160 power-integrity target.
Estimated: a continuous Linux-equivalent workload drawing 500 mA at 1.2 V core dissipates approximately 0.6 W, which the FTG256 junction-to-ambient thermal envelope handles without an external heatsink. Above 1 W continuous (e.g. when the 32 DSP48A1 slices are running flat-out at 600 MHz), use the central package GND balls array as a thermal relief pattern with a copper pour on the top side; refer to the Spartan-6 packaging thermal model UG306 for a theta JA estimate. Forced airflow is recommended above 1.5 W.
Avoid mating the Spartan-6 LX16 BGA with 0.5 mm pitch BGAs from Lattice or Microsemi - the pitch is 1.0 mm. Do not connect VCCO_0 (configuration-bank supply) at 1.8 V if you need 3.3 V I/O - select the correct bank. Program the FPGA via JTAG or Platform Flash XL, but reserve one of the dedicated CFGBVS pins for bank-0 voltage negotiation. Failure to drop DONE high within the watchdog window indicates incorrect configuration timing; consult UG360 before reusing the design on a replacement die such as the XC6SLX25.
Compliance Information
RoHS-compliant per AMD Spartan-6 product page. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - select the XC6SLX16-3FTG256Q automotive variant for AEC-Q100 applications. C-grade suffix denotes commercial temperature 0 C to +85 C.
