EP20K200CF484I8N - 200K Gates APEX 20KC FPGA 484-FBGA | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP20K200CF484I8N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $785.16 | $785.16 |
| 10 | $745.4 | $7,454.00 |
| 100 | $698.5 | $69,850.00 |
| 500 | $655.2 | $327,600.00 |
| 1,000 | $612.8 | $612,800.00 |
EP20K200CF484I8N Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device built from an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory, and programmable interconnect that can be reconfigured by the designer after manufacture. APEX 20KC devices sit in the hierarchy FPGA -> programmable logic -> logic IC -> integrated circuit, and were specifically designed for high-density data-path and datapath-control applications such as telecom bridging, custom DSP, and glue-logic replacement on multi-board systems. They support hot-socketing and LVTTL/LVCMOS/PCI I/O standards.
Key features include 106,496 bits of embedded system RAM distributed across ESBs (Embedded System Blocks), four phase-locked loops for clock management, multi-level interconnect with FastTrack routing, and support for boundary-scan JTAG (IEEE 1149.1). The 484-FBGA package provides 376 usable I/O, giving a generous pin-to-gate ratio that simplifies memory-bus and multi-port interface integration.
The architecture combines a network of LABs (Logic Array Blocks), each containing ten LEs (Logic Elements) with 4-input LUTs, and a parallel array of ESBs that can be configured as RAM, ROM, or CAM. This makes APEX 20KC one of the first FPGA families with on-chip content-addressable memory support.
Typical applications include custom telecommunications interfaces, high-speed bridge/router line cards, RAID controllers, video processing pipelines, and ASIC prototyping. The 200K-gate capacity is well suited to designs that need DSP co-processing, multi-channel DMA, or large FIFO aggregation.
When designing with this device, note that APEX 20KC is in legacy / mature status. Designers should verify long-term support with Intel before committing to new production designs, and budget for the Quartus design-software toolchain (legacy II / 2000-series Web Edition).
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-family alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet. XAIPART aggregates FBGA-package stock and lifecycle risk so engineers can make a sourcing decision in one place.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K200CF484I8N — 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 EP20K200CF484I8N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Family, Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT).
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K200CF484I8
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$471.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200CF484C8N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$102.95 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200CF484C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$62 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200CF484I7
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$89.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200CF484C9N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$201.04 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200CF484I8N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX 20KC |
| Logic Elements | 8,320 |
| System Gates | 200,000 |
| Maximum User I/O | 376 |
| Total I/O Pins (Package) | 376 user / 484 total FBGA |
| Embedded System RAM | 106,496 bits |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 301.21 MHz |
| Propagation Delay | 1.78 ns (per distributor data) |
| Process Technology | 0.15 µm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.71 V to 1.89 V (typical 1.8 V) |
| Operating Temperature (TJ) | 0 °C to +85 °C (industrial "I" suffix) |
| Package | 484-pin Fine-pitch BGA (FBGA) |
| Speed Grade | 8 |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (suffix "N") |
| Configuration Memory | SRAM-based, volatile (requires external config device) |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
EP20K200CF484I8N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A3 | VCCIO_1 — I/O supply, bank 1 |
| Pin A4 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A5 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A6 | GND — Ground |
| Pin A7 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A8 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A9 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin A10 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin A11 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin B3 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B4 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B5 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B6 | VCCIO_1 — I/O supply, bank 1 |
| Pin B7 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B8 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B9 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin B10 | GND — Ground |
| Pin B11 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C1 | VCCIO_1 — I/O supply, bank 1 |
| Pin C2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C3 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C4 | GND — Ground |
| Pin C5 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin C6 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C7 | GND — Ground |
| Pin C8 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C9 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C10 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin C11 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin D1 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D2 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D3 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D4 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin D5 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D6 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D7 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D8 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin D9 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D10 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin D11 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin E2 | VCCINT — Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin E3 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E4 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E5 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E6 | GND — Ground |
| Pin E7 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E8 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E9 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
| Pin E10 | GND — Ground |
| Pin E11 | I/O — General-purpose user I/O (bank 1) |
Typical Applications
EP20K200CF484I8N is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunications Line-Card Bridging, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, RAID Storage Controllers, Industrial Motor Control DSP, Video Pipeline Processing, Legacy Telecom Glue Logic Replacement.
Telecommunications Line-Card Bridging
The EP20K200CF484I8N's 200K system gates and 376 user I/O make it a strong fit for telecom line-card bridging where multiple PHY interfaces, TDM buses, and backplane serial links must be aggregated. The four on-chip PLLs generate the multiple clock domains needed for STS-1/STM-0 framing and Utopia Level-2/3 interfaces, while the 8,320 LEs absorb custom packet-classification glue logic without resorting to an external ASIC. Compared with a discrete CPLD-plus-ASIC approach, this part consolidates glue logic, bus arbitration, and clock generation into a single device, reducing PCB area. Engineers should budget for the 1.8 V core and provision 3.3 V VCCIO for legacy LVTTL PHY connections.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
With 200,000 system gates and 106 Kbits of embedded RAM, the EP20K200CF484I8N is well-suited for ASIC prototyping of medium-complexity designs in the 100–150K-gate class. The MultiVolt I/O supports 1.8/2.5/3.3 V mix-and-match, allowing prototype ASIC signals to be wired at their final voltages. Designers can partition and download partial bitstreams to iterate on RTL blocks, and use JTAG for runtime observability. Compared with a modern Cyclone IV, the APEX 20KC has a slower internal interconnect, so a timing margin of 20–30 % should be added when emulating a sub-100 MHz ASIC design. The FBGA footprint also demands controlled-impedance PCB layout.
Recommended
RAID Storage Controllers
The EP20K200CF484I8N's 376 I/O support the multi-channel SATA/Ultra320 SCSI fan-out typical of hardware RAID controllers, while the 8,320 LEs handle XOR parity engines and command queuing state machines. The on-chip ESB RAM (106 Kbits) can be configured as dual-port FIFOs between SATA link layers and the host PCI bus, eliminating external SRAM. Industrial temperature grade makes the I8N suffix suitable for near-line storage appliances. Compared with a pure-software RAID on a CPU, this part offloads parity computation and delivers deterministic latency. Designers should note that APEX 20KC lacks dedicated SERDES, so external SATA PHYs are required.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control DSP
The four PLLs and 1.78 ns propagation delay let the EP20K200CF484I8N execute multi-axis field-oriented control (FOC) loops at 10–20 kHz PWM rates, fitting typical industrial servo and AC-drive requirements. The 376 I/O are ample for parallel ADC sampling of phase currents and PWM outputs to gate drivers, while the 106 Kbits of embedded RAM support lookup tables for sine/space-vector modulation. The industrial temperature grade ("I") and 1.8 V core suit harsh factory-floor environments. Compared with a micro-controller, this FPGA delivers deterministic 25 ns loop times for vector control. The FBGA package needs thermal vias and a heatsink for sustained 1 A switching loads.
Recommended
Video Pipeline Processing
The EP20K200CF484I8N's embedded system blocks can be configured as line buffers or dual-port video FIFOs, enabling real-time SDTV video processing pipelines (de-interlacing, scaling, color-space conversion). The 376 I/O easily accommodate ITU-R BT.656 parallel video buses, while the 8,320 LEs implement 2-D FIR filters and chroma-key compositors. Industrial temperature grade supports digital signage installations. Compared with DSP-based approaches, the FPGA delivers deterministic latency without instruction-fetch overhead. Designers should plan for 64–128 Mbits of external SDRAM for frame buffering, since on-chip RAM holds only a few scanlines.
Recommended
Legacy Telecom Glue Logic Replacement
When older proprietary telecom boards reach end-of-life, the EP20K200CF484I8N serves as a form-fit-function replacement for legacy AL3000-series gate arrays. The 484-FBGA footprint and MultiVolt I/O (1.8/2.5/3.3 V) allow drop-in replacement on existing PCBs while consolidating discrete 74-series logic into a single programmable device. The 200K gates absorb UART/HDLC controllers, time-slot interchangers, and alarm/status registers. Compared with re-spinning the host board, this approach extends product life with minimal NRE cost. Engineers should re-run timing closure since APEX 20KC interconnect is slower than the original gate-array macros.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K200CF484I8N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K200CF484I8 | EP20K200CF484C8N | EP20K200CF484C7N | EP20K200CF484I7 | EP20K200CF484C9N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 484-pin FBGA | 484-pin FBGA (same) | 484-pin FBGA (same) | 484-pin FBGA (same) | 484-pin FBGA (same) | 484-pin FBGA (same) |
| System Gates | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 |
| Logic Elements | 8,320 | 8,320 | 8,320 | 8,320 | 8,320 | 8,320 |
| Maximum User I/O | 376 | 376 | 376 | 376 | 376 | 376 |
| Speed Grade | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 (slower) | 7 (slower) | 9 (faster) |
| Operating Temperature (TJ) | 0 °C to +85 °C (industrial) | 0 °C to +85 °C (industrial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) | 0 °C to +85 °C (industrial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) |
| Lead-Free (RoHS) | Yes (suffix "N") | No (leaded solder balls) | Yes | Yes | No (leaded) | Yes |
| Embedded RAM | 106,496 bits | 106,496 bits | 106,496 bits | 106,496 bits | 106,496 bits | 106,496 bits |
Key Differentiators
- Lead-free RoHS-compliant industrial-temperature grade in 484-FBGA (vs EP20K200CF484I8)
- Industrial 0–85 °C junction temperature (vs EP20K200CF484C8N)
- Speed grade 8 balances Fmax against power (vs EP20K200CF484C9N)
Design Notes
The EP20K200CF484I8N requires a clean 1.8 V ±5 % core supply (VCCINT) and a separate VCCIO for each I/O bank. Bulk-decouple each supply pin with a 10 µF tantalum and a 0.1 µF ceramic placed within 5 mm of the BGA via. The four PLL supplies (VCC_PLL) must be filtered with a ferrite bead and 10 µF/0.1 µF pair to meet the 1.8 V PLL jitter specification. Insufficient decoupling can introduce 50–100 ps of additional period jitter on PLL outputs.
The 484-FBGA package has a 1.0 mm ball pitch and demands 4–6 layer PCB stack-up with micro-via or via-in-pad construction. Use JEDEC J-STD-020 MSL-3 handling - the device must be baked at 125 °C for 24 hours before reflow if exposure exceeded 168 hours. The thermal pad (if present on bottom) must be soldered to a 16 × 16 mm copper pour with thermal vias to the inner ground plane to keep θJA in the 18–22 °C/W range.
The EP20K200CF484I8N is volatile (SRAM-based) and must be configured at every power-up via JTAG or an EPC-series configuration device. Failing to add a configuration ROM renders the device non-functional at first power-up. Additionally, the I8N speed grade is not bit-stream-compatible with Cyclone IV or newer families - any attempt to load a Cyclone .pof will fail. Engineers migrating designs should treat this as a full redesign, not a software recompile.
Compliance Information
Lead-free / RoHS compliant per the "N" suffix. REACH compliance per Intel product page. AEC-Q100 not applicable (FPGAs are not automotive-qualified). Halogen-free status not explicitly published; assumed no per typical Altera practice.
