EP1AGX20CF780C6 - Arria GX FPGA 21K LE 780-BGA | Intel | Altera
MPN: EP1AGX20CF780C6 ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285 | $285.00 |
| 10 | $265.5 | $2,655.00 |
| 100 | $232 | $23,200.00 |
| 500 | $198.75 | $99,375.00 |
| 1,000 | $175.4 | $175,400.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1AGX20CF780C6 — 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:
EP1AGX20CF780C5N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX20CF780C7N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1AGX20CF780C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$38.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX20CF780I6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1AGX20CF780C6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Arria GX |
| Logic Elements | 21,580 |
| Total RAM Bits | 1,229,184 bits |
| Total RAM Blocks | 341 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Transceiver Channels | Up to 8 |
| Max Transceiver Data Rate | 3.125 Gbps |
| Package | 780-ball FC-FBGA |
| Speed Grade | C6 |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (flip-chip BGA) |
EP1AGX20CF780C6 780-ball fc-fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1AGX20CF780C6 (780-ball fc-fbga 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 EP1AGX20CF780C6.
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
EP1AGX20CF780C6 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunications Backplane Aggregation, Broadcast Video / SDI Processing, Industrial Machine Vision Systems, Wireless Baseband Processing, PCI Express Endpoint / Add-in Card, High-Speed Protocol Bridging / Glue Logic.
Telecommunications Backplane Aggregation
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 is well suited for telecommunications backplane aggregation cards that bridge multi-gigabit serial links between line cards and switch fabrics. Its 8 transceiver channels operating up to 3.125 Gbps support Serial RapidIO and SONET/SDH framer interfaces without external PHY devices, reducing BOM and board area. The 1,229,184 bits of embedded memory provide buffering for cell/packet reassembly, while the 21,580 logic elements handle forwarding-table lookup and QoS classification. Designers place the device on a backplane card with a controlled-impedance stackup and AC-coupling capacitors on each serial link; thermal vias under the 780-ball FC-FBGA dissipate the 1.2 V core and transceiver power. Compared with a discrete SERDES + CPLD implementation, the integrated transceiver IP shortens design time and improves signal-integrity margins.
Recommended
Broadcast Video / SDI Processing
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 is widely deployed in broadcast video equipment that ingests and processes SD-SDI, HD-SDI, and 3G-SDI streams. Its transceivers natively support SMPTE 259M, 292M, and 424M bit-serial video at 270 Mbps, 1.485 Gbps, and 2.97 Gbps respectively, with on-chip 8B/10B encoding and video-specific clock-recovery circuitry. The device’s embedded RAM blocks store line and frame buffers for de-interlacing, scaling, and overlay functions, while the DSP blocks perform real-time chroma-key and color-space conversion. In a typical 3G-SDI router design, four transceiver channels ingest 1080p60 streams, the fabric cross-points route them to outputs, and the host processor handles control via I2C or SPI. The 780-ball FC-FBGA package maintains signal-integrity for the multi-gigabit serial links at the required PCB stackup.
Recommended
Industrial Machine Vision Systems
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 fits industrial machine vision systems that require CoaXPress, Camera Link, or GigE Vision interfaces. Transceivers deliver multi-gigabit serial connectivity to high-resolution line-scan and area-scan cameras, while the device’s DSP blocks execute real-time image preprocessing such as Bayer demosaicing, edge detection, and histogram equalization. The 1,229,184-bit embedded RAM provides line-buffer memory for pipelined pixel processing, and the 21,580 logic elements implement frame-grabber state machines and trigger logic. Industrial deployments benefit from the I6 temperature-grade variant (EP1AGX20CF780I6) which supports -40C to +100C operation in factory-floor enclosures. Hardware designers must allocate sufficient FPGA fabric and memory bandwidth to sustain the pixel rate of modern 25 MP+ sensors.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband Processing
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 is used in wireless baseband processing for small-cell and picocell base stations where DSP throughput and multi-gigabit CPRI/OBSAI framer connectivity are required. The device’s dedicated DSP blocks implement channel-card FFT/iFFT, channel estimation, and turbo/LDPC decoding at LTE sample rates, while 8 transceiver channels provide CPRI links up to 3.125 Gbps to remote radio heads (RRH). Embedded RAM buffers I/Q sample streams between the antenna interface and baseband DSP pipeline. The 780-ball FC-FBGA ball-grid supports the high pin count demanded by parallel LVDS connections to ADC/DAC companion chips. Power consumption is moderate for the process node, allowing sealed outdoor radio units with conductive cooling. For 5G migration, designers evaluate Arria 10 or Stratix 10 families with higher transceiver lane counts.
Recommended
PCI Express Endpoint / Add-in Card
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 is suitable for PCIe add-in cards implementing Gen1 x4 endpoints such as data-acquisition boards, software-defined radio front-ends, and storage controllers. Hard IP blocks implement the PCIe Physical Layer, Data Link Layer, and Transaction Layer in compliance with the PCI Express 1.1 specification, supporting 2.5 Gbps lane rates with x1/x2/x4 link widths. Designers instantiate the PCIe hard IP core in Quartus II, configure BAR mapping and MSI/MSI-X interrupt generation, and expose the user-facing logic through the device’s 21,580 logic elements. The 780-ball FC-FBGA provides enough I/O for 4 PCIe lanes plus parallel high-speed ADC/DAC interfaces. Firmware drivers and reference designs in the Altera PCIe development kit accelerate board bring-up.
Recommended
High-Speed Protocol Bridging / Glue Logic
The EP1AGX20CF780C6 is commonly used as a protocol-bridging FPGA between incompatible serial interfaces such as Serial RapidIO to Gigabit Ethernet, XAUI to SGMII, or Aurora to PCIe. Its transceiver-rich architecture allows multiple protocol instances to coexist on a single device, eliminating the need for two or more FPGAs in bridging designs. The 341 embedded RAM blocks provide FIFO and elastic-buffer storage for rate adaptation between asynchronous clock domains, while the 21,580 logic elements implement state machines, header processing, and congestion control. In a typical storage controller, the FPGA bridges between SAS initiators and SATA drives, performing command queueing and NCQ translation. Quartus II reference designs accelerate protocol bring-up.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1AGX20CF780C6 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1AGX20CF780C5N | EP1AGX20CF780C7N | EP1AGX20CF780C6N | EP1AGX20CF780I6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 780-ball FC-FBGA | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same | 780-ball FC-FBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 21,580 | 21,580 | 21,580 | 21,580 | 21,580 |
| Total RAM Bits | 1,229,184 bits | 1,229,184 bits | 1,229,184 bits | 1,229,184 bits | 1,229,184 bits |
| Speed Grade | C6 | C5 (slower) | C7 (faster) | C6 | I6 (industrial temp) |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Industrial (-40C to +100C) |
| Transceiver Channels | Up to 8 | Up to 8 | Up to 8 | Up to 8 | Up to 8 |
| Max Transceiver Data Rate | 3.125 Gbps | 3.125 Gbps | 3.125 Gbps | 3.125 Gbps | 3.125 Gbps |
| Lifecycle Status | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy | Last Time Buy |
Key Differentiators
- Transceiver-rich mid-density FPGA at lowest unit cost in the same package (vs EP1AGX35CF780C6)
- Industrial temperature option with same ball-map (vs EP1AGX20CF780I6)
- Speed-grade flexibility for timing-margin tuning (vs EP1AGX20CF780C7N)
Design Notes
The 780-ball FC-FBGA package requires a controlled-impedance PCB stackup with 50 ohm single-ended and 100 ohm differential traces for the transceiver channels. Use the Altera-recommended footprint and via pattern from the Arria GX device handbook; escape routing typically requires at least 6 routing layers with microvia or via-in-pad construction. AC-coupling capacitors (typically 100 nF) must be placed within 1 inch of each transceiver pin pair to comply with the protocol's electrical specification. Decoupling capacitors (10 uF, 1 uF, 100 nF in parallel) must be placed adjacent to the core and transceiver power balls to suppress switching noise. Estimated: 4 transceiver pairs per centimeter of board edge is a reasonable density target for 8-layer stackups.
Estimated: With 8 active transceivers at 3.125 Gbps and typical utilization of logic and DSP blocks, the EP1AGX20CF780C6 can dissipate 4-7 W. The 780-ball FC-FBGA package requires a thermal solution combining thermal vias under the BGA and a heatsink or heat spreader. Calculate junction temperature rise as T_J = T_A + (P_DISSIPATED x theta_JA) and target theta_JA below 15 C/W with airflow. Use the Altera PowerPlay early-power estimator in Quartus II for application-specific dissipation before final heatsink selection. Industrial-grade I6 variants have similar thermal envelope but extended operating-temperature validation.
Common pitfalls when designing with the EP1AGX20CF780C6 include: (1) omitting the configuration device (EPCS4/EPCS16) on the board, which prevents FPGA boot; (2) failing to assign all transceiver reference clock inputs, which Quartus II will flag as unassigned pins; (3) confusing C6/C7/I6 speed grades during PCB bring-up, since lower speed grades fail timing at the same fMAX; (4) ignoring MSL3 moisture sensitivity for the FC-FBGA package during reflow - bake at 125C for 24 hours before assembly; (5) using a non-validated transceiver IBIS-AMI model, which corrupts signal-integrity simulations. Always re-run Quartus II timing analysis after switching speed grades or design revisions.
Compliance Information
RoHS, lead-free, and halogen-free status not specified in the verified web data; refer to manufacturer declaration for confirmation. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC.
