STM32F407VGT6 Sourcing Guide: LQFP100, Suffix and Clone Checks

Why this part sits on so many high-end BOMs #

STM32F407VGT6 is the workhorse of ST's high-performance F4 line: an Arm Cortex-M4F running to 168 MHz with 1 MB of Flash, 192 KB of SRAM plus 4 KB backup, 82 GPIO, and a peripheral set that includes an Ethernet MAC, a DCMI camera interface, USB OTG (high-speed and full-speed) and an FSMC memory controller. That combination — a fast FPU-capable core, on-chip Ethernet, and a camera pipe in a 14×14 mm LQFP100 — is why it shows up in industrial controllers, motor drives, building automation, test equipment, medical peripherals and a long tail of HMI and connectivity designs.

It is also old enough, valuable enough and popular enough to attract the usual open-market problems: remarked devices, cloned silicon, suffix confusion and the allocation aftershocks that have affected ST's MCU lines for several years. None of those stop the part from being buyable — they just mean a line item that reads "STM32F407VGT6" on paper can be three or four different things in the tray. This note is about getting the real part, with the real package and the real traceability, into your build.

What STM32F407VGT6 actually is #

At the part level, the catalogued device is:

• Core: Arm Cortex-M4F with single-precision FPU, up to 168 MHz
• Memory: 1 MB Flash, 192 KB + 4 KB SRAM
• I/O: 82 GPIO
• Key peripherals: 10/100 Ethernet MAC, DCMI (digital camera interface), USB OTG HS/FS, FSMC
• Package: LQFP100, 14×14 mm body, 0.5 mm pitch
• Supply: 1.8–3.6 V
• Temperature grade: −40 °C to +85 °C (industrial)
• Lifecycle: in production

The Ethernet MAC and DCMI camera interface are what separate the "407" from the plainer F4 subfamilies and from the F1/F0 parts, so they are worth calling out on any incoming quote: a device that lacks a working Ethernet MAC or camera interface is not the part you specified, regardless of what the label says.

The ordering code, character by character #

The suffix is not decoration. For STM32F407VGT6 each group carries a binding specification:

The three characters buyers most often get wrong are the pin count, the Flash size and the temperature grade. A "V" (100-pin) device cannot drop onto a board laid out for a "Z" (144-pin) or "I" (176-pin BGA) part, and a "G" (1 MB) build will not fit a firmware image sized for an "E" (512 KB) device. The "6" vs "7" difference is subtler but matters for any design rated above 85 °C. When a quote arrives with a different letter in any of those positions, treat it as a different component, not a cheaper equivalent.

Package and footprint checks #

LQFP100 is a 14×14 mm body with 0.5 mm lead pitch and a central exposed pad. Confirm the following before release:

• Body and pitch: 14×14 mm, 0.5 mm — matches the land pattern your PCB was built to.
• Tray vs reel: production quantities normally ship in tape-and-reel; sample or

prototype quantities may arrive in trays. The packing method should be stated on the packing list, not assumed.

• Moisture sensitivity: LQFP parts are typically MSL 3. If the date code is older or

the dry-pack seal is broken, confirm floor-life and baking before reflow.

• Marking consistency: the laser mark should show the ST logo, the "STM32F407VGT6"

line and a legible traceability/font code. Smudged, uneven or oddly spaced marking is a flag, not a cosmetic nit.

Substitution and clone risk #

STM32F4-class devices are widely cloned, and the F407 is a frequent target because of its value and demand. The realistic failure modes are:

• Remarked lower-tier silicon: a slower or smaller part relabelled as F407VGT6. Verify

the actual Flash size, core speed and peripheral behaviour, not just the label.

• Non-ST silicon marked as ST: functionally close clones exist, but they are not the

qualified ST device your design was validated against. They may differ in errata, boot behaviour, analog accuracy or long-term availability.

• Reflashed or lock-bit-cleared parts: devices pulled from scrap and reprogrammed.

These can pass a quick blink test and fail later in the field.

• Grade or package drift: a "Z"/"I" or "E"/"C" variant presented as "V"/"G".

A credible supplier should be able to show franchise or lot-level traceability and be comfortable with functional and marking verification. The practical inspection steps are covered in the counterfeit-identification guide linked below; for a part this valuable, that check is not optional.

On second-sourcing: within ST, an F417 variant adds a cryptographic accelerator but is otherwise close — useful only if your firmware actually uses it, and still a different ordering code. Cross-vendor "F407-compatible" parts exist but are not drop-in from a qualification standpoint; treat any switch as a re-qualification, not a swap.

Buyer risk points #

• Confirm the full ordering code letter-by-letter — pin count, Flash, package and

temperature grade are each independently binding.

• Verify the device is genuinely the ST Cortex-M4F with working Ethernet MAC and DCMI,

not a remarked or cloned part.

• Agree an acceptable date-code range up front; do not accept "latest" as a

specification.

• Confirm packing (reel vs tray) and MSL/floor-life for the date code supplied.
• Keep clone and remark risk on the table for any source that cannot show traceability.

Practical RFQ notes #

Send the exact manufacturer part number STM32F407VGT6, your target quantity, the date-code window you can accept, the required packing (reel or tray), and the shipment destination. If this is for an approved BOM, state the approved manufacturer and any substitution restrictions so the quote comes back against the real device. Because ST MCU lines have run allocation programmes in recent years, lead time and stock should be confirmed per quantity rather than assumed — and a quote that is dramatically below market for this part is itself a reason to verify the silicon.

Conclusion #

STM32F407VGT6 is a buyable, in-production part, but "STM32F407VGT6" on a PO is only as good as the device behind it. Lock the ordering code character by character — 100-pin "V", 1 MB "G", LQFP "T", industrial "6" — confirm LQFP100 footprint and packing, screen for clones and remarked parts, and agree a date-code range before release. Do that, and the Ethernet-equipped, camera-ready Cortex-M4F you designed around is the one that actually lands on the line.