Evan Huang
Altera identifies EPM240 with 240 logic elements, while the MAX II handbook separately lists equivalent macrocells. Use the actual architecture, source design and fit report to assess resources. Interpreting 240 as a fixed-macrocell count can distort a density comparison and the expected migration workload.
I specifies the standard industrial range of -40 to 100 C junction temperature; the application must translate that into its own thermal conditions. Grade 5 is a relative performance category, not a universal 5 ns path delay. Retain the applicable timing data, compiled design and constraints. The withdrawn extended-industrial MAX II program is separate from the standard I-code range.
Retain the source project, constraints, tool/device-pack environment and released programming image together. An image can sustain its original target, while another density or package can require a refit and timing analysis from source. Verify pin assignments, startup and interfaces on the new target, and keep the engineering change with the revised programming instructions.
EPM570T100I5N increases density in the 100-pin TQFP category and needs net-by-net power/I/O, fit and timing checks. EPM240F100I5N keeps EPM240 density but changes to 100-pin FineLine BGA, requiring a new footprint and assembly review. Choose between extra logic resources and a physical implementation change according to the design task.
Require the final N, carrier, quantity, date-code restrictions, available source documents and confirmed delivery terms. Ask for any lifecycle notice's exact affected-products table before setting a last-buy decision; a material declaration answers composition questions rather than delivery or discontinuance timing. Keep the customer's logic project under engineering control and list target-change evaluation quantities separately.
Category: Component Selection & Alternatives
By Evan Huang
EPM240T100I5N is a 240-logic-element MAX II CPLD in a 100-pin industrial TQFP with speed grade 5. Keeping an established design running requires the released logic and programming flow as well as the physical device. Migration is a separate engineering decision, even within the MAX II family. The industrial temperature designation refers to junction temperature, not a blanket ambient rating.
An established controller can depend on a small CPLD for functions that are difficult to see from the purchase description: power sequencing, interface control or fixed logic between larger devices. A replacement may appear electrically quiet on the bench and still change a critical startup event if the wrong design is programmed.
The procurement task therefore has two layers. One preserves the approved EPM240T100I5N device. The other preserves the configuration that makes it perform the intended function. A manufacturer part number identifies silicon; it does not identify the customer's compiled logic, constraints or production programming settings.
Altera's MAX II Introduction, revision 1.9, August 2009, describes the family's nonvolatile CPLD architecture and lists EPM240 at 240 logic elements (LEs). Its table distinguishes LEs from equivalent macrocells. Do not convert the 240 in the code into a claim of 240 fixed macrocells.
For a repeat purchase, engineering should identify the released programming image and its verification process before incoming material is assigned to production. For a redesign, preserve the source project so that the design can be compiled and checked for a new target. These are related, but different, deliverables.
The MAX II ordering chapter, revision 1.6, provides the ordering diagram. T identifies TQFP, 100 the pin count, I the industrial junction-temperature option, 5 the speed grade and N lead-free packaging.
The diagram defines the industrial range as -40 to 100 C junction temperature. That should not be rewritten as an ambient-temperature promise for an assembled product. The junction temperature depends on the application and its thermal conditions.
Altera's currently hosted extended-temperature technical brief adds an important cover warning: extended industrial support is no longer available for MAX II. Its historical body still describes operation to 125 C, so the old extended range must not be carried into a new approval. The standard industrial ordering range above and a withdrawn extended-temperature program are separate facts.
Speed grade 5 is another easy source of an incorrect shortcut. Altera explicitly describes speed grades as relative performance categories, not a specific timing parameter. The number is not a guarantee of a 5 ns delay on every path. Timing acceptance belongs to the released design, its constraints and the applicable device-characteristics tables.
The blank product-line field in this primary code belongs to the 2.5/3.3 V VCCINT MAX II option. G and Z identify different supply variants in the family. A similar density label must not hide a core-supply change when a candidate is evaluated.
An older programmable design can become expensive to migrate when its source or constraints have been separated from the production files. Audit the design archive while the existing board remains available for comparison.
Table 1. Records that protect an EPM240T100I5N program
| Record | Why it matters | Owner of the acceptance decision |
|---|---|---|
| Full approved code and pin assignment | Connects the physical device to the released PCB | Hardware engineering |
| Source project, constraints and tool/device-pack versions | Makes a repeatable rebuild or target change possible | Programmable-logic engineering |
| Released programming image and verification procedure | Distinguishes approved logic from a merely programmable device | Engineering and production |
| Board-level startup and interface test | Confirms the intended behavior after programming | Product validation |
Source: MAX II family and ordering documentation. Retain these project artifacts together for repeatable programming and target changes.
Figure 1. Preserve the exact EPM240T100I5N device and the released source, constraints, build environment, programming image and board test as one production record. The industrial range is junction temperature; speed grade 5 is a relative timing category.
Use the toolchain supported by the actual released project and target. The 2009 handbook mentions Quartus II and historical operating systems; that text is not proof that every current software edition or device pack supports the target. Verify current support through the appropriate manufacturer tools and preserve the exact known-working environment where the program requires it.
If the only surviving artifact is a programming image, identify that limitation before promising a straightforward redesign. An image may sustain the original target through a controlled production flow, while a different density or family can require source-level work that the image alone cannot supply.
EPM240T100I5N alternatives need a programmable-design review as well as a physical-device comparison. The complete codes below illustrate a higher-density target and a different package, each with its own implementation work.
Table 2. MAX II comparison devices
| Complete code | Meaningful difference | Approval boundary |
|---|---|---|
| EPM570T100I5N | Higher-density MAX II device in a 100-pin TQFP category | Refit and timing analysis; verify every power, dedicated and user-I/O connection |
| EPM240F100I5N | EPM240 density with a 100-pin FineLine BGA package | New footprint and assembly review; not a replacement on the original TQFP lands |
Sources: Altera extended-temperature technical brief, TB-088-1.1, Table 3, and the MAX II family/package and ordering chapters. The brief supplies historical ordering-code evidence, not current extended-temperature approval. No pin-for-pin application approval has been established.
An EPM240T100I5N vs EPM570T100I5N review can start within the shared 100-pin TQFP category, but vertical migration must be a planned board capability. The handbook calls for power-pin and user-I/O checks across the intended devices; its package table lists different user-I/O counts for EPM240 and EPM570. Compare every connected net, then refit the source design and inspect its timing report.
A successful fit in the new device is only part of the result. Review constrained paths, startup behavior, logic levels and the programmed function on the real board. Where a package change is contemplated, include assembly yield and programming access in the redesign estimate instead of comparing only the component price.
Figure 2. Replenishment preserves the released target and programming flow. EPM570T100I5N requires fit, timing and connection review; EPM240F100I5N changes the package to FineLine BGA. Each migration needs its own board and logic release.
The exact Altera material declaration confirms an official document associated with EPM240T100I5N. A material declaration answers composition-related questions; it does not provide a delivery commitment or establish a discontinuance schedule.
Request any applicable lifecycle notice by complete code. A notice affecting EPM240T100I5 without the final N must be checked for its actual affected-products table before conclusions are transferred to EPM240T100I5N. Family names and historical brand changes are insufficient evidence of an exact-code last-buy date.
For an unchanged program, seek supply confirmation while preserving the released artifacts and incoming acceptance process. For a program with a longer future horizon, begin a controlled migration assessment with enough time for tool, logic, board and production validation. The commercial and engineering workstreams can run together without confusing replenishment with an already approved replacement.
The defensible decision is to sustain what has been released and qualify what will change. EPM240T100I5N procurement becomes manageable when the exact device, programmed logic and board test remain connected, and when lifecycle claims are backed by notices that actually include the offered code.
For an unchanged build, request an EPM240T100I5N quote with the final N intact, required quantity, need-by date, packing and lot-traceability conditions. Keep the released programming image under your engineering team's control. List EPM570T100I5N or EPM240F100I5N separately if they are evaluation candidates, and request exact-code lifecycle evidence alongside the offer. Quantity and delivery confirmation must come from that offer, not a family-level notice.