EP20K200FC484-3N - APEX-20K FPGA 200K Gates 484-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP20K200FC484-3N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $145 | $145.00 |
| 10 | $132.5 | $1,325.00 |
| 100 | $118 | $11,800.00 |
| 500 | $105 | $52,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $92.5 | $92,500.00 |
EP20K200FC484-3N Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a type of Programmable Logic Device (PLD) that combines configurable logic blocks, programmable interconnect, and often dedicated memory blocks and multipliers on a single piece of silicon. Within the semiconductor taxonomy, FPGAs sit below the hypernyms of programmable logic, programmable logic devices, and ultimately integrated circuits. The APEX-20K family was an early industry-first PLD that integrated hard IP for system-on-chip designs, foreshadowing today's SoC FPGAs that combine Arm cores with programmable fabric.
Key specifications of the EP20K200FC484-3N include 200,000 system gates, 8,320 logic elements, 106,496 embedded RAM bits, 382 user I/Os, and a core voltage supply of 1.71 V to 1.89 V (VCCINT), with I/O supply on independent VCCIO rails. The device is fabricated on a 0.22 µm CMOS process and supports MultiVolt™ I/O, allowing 2.5 V, 3.3 V, or 5.0 V mixed-voltage interfacing with external memories, microprocessors, and bus transceivers. It also includes 4 phase-locked loops (PLLs) for clock management and supports LVDS, PCI, and other I/O standards. Programming is performed via JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) or the legacy Altera ByteBlaster / MasterBlaster / ByteBlasterMV interfaces using the Quartus II design tool flow (legacy Altera toolchain).
Typical applications for the EP20K200FC484-3N include communications infrastructure (bridges, protocol converters, ATM/SONET framing), high-speed image processing, industrial automation controllers, PCI bus bridging and arbitration logic, DSP co-processing front-ends, and high-density glue logic replacing discrete TTL/CMOS ASICs. The combination of high gate count, ample I/O, and embedded RAM makes it particularly attractive for cost-sensitive, multi-standard interface designs that require a programmable but production-stable silicon platform. Because APEX-20K is an older generation, design teams are most commonly using it today for legacy product maintenance, end-of-life replacements, and long-lifecycle industrial / aerospace / defense systems.
When designing with this part, ensure that the Quartus II (or later) toolchain supports the EP20K200 device family; many modern Quartus releases have dropped APEX-20K support, so designers must retain a legacy toolchain. Power sequencing, JTAG chain integrity, and I/O bank voltage compatibility should be validated against the APEX-20K datasheet before committing to a new board layout. The 484-FBGA package requires X-ray inspection and careful reflow profiling to avoid cold joints on the 1.0 mm pitch BGA balls.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K200FC484-3N — 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 EP20K200FC484-3N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Speed Grade, Operating Temperature, Package, Process Technology, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K200FC484-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$210 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200FC484-3AA
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$171 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200FC484-2N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K200FC484-1N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$118 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200FC484-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$119 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200EFC484-2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200EFC484-2X
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$54.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200EFC484-1N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$290 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K200FC484-3N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | APEX-20K |
| Manufacturer | Altera (Intel Programmable Solutions Group) |
| Logic Elements / Logic Cells | 8320 |
| System Gates | 200,000 |
| Total RAM Bits | 106,496 |
| Number of I/O | 382 |
| Number of Logic Blocks/Elements | 8320 |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 1.71 V to 1.89 V |
| Supply Voltage (I/O) | MultiVolt 2.5 V / 3.3 V / 5.0 V |
| Propagation Delay | 2.5 ns (typical) |
| Operating Temperature | 0°C to +85°C (Commercial) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Package / Case | 484-BGA (FineLine BGA, 23x23 mm) |
| Supplier Device Package | 484-FBGA (23x23) |
| Process Technology | 0.22 µm CMOS |
| PLL Count | 4 |
| JTAG Support | Yes (IEEE 1149.1) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (Pb-free package) |
| Speed Grade | -3N |
EP20K200FC484-3N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 1) |
| Pin A2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 1) |
| Pin B1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 1) |
| Pin B2 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage 1.71-1.89 V |
| Pin C1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin C2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 2) |
| Pin D1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 2) |
| Pin D2 | VCCIO1 — I/O bank 1 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin E1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 3) |
| Pin E2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 3) |
| Pin F1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin F2 | VCCIO2 — I/O bank 2 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin G1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 4) |
| Pin G2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 4) |
| Pin H1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 4) |
| Pin H2 | VCCIO3 — I/O bank 3 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin J1 | TCK — JTAG test clock input (IEEE 1149.1) |
| Pin J2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 5) |
| Pin K1 | TMS — JTAG test mode select input |
| Pin K2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 5) |
| Pin L1 | TDI — JTAG test data input |
| Pin L2 | VCCIO4 — I/O bank 4 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin M1 | TDO — JTAG test data output |
| Pin M2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 5) |
| Pin N1 | nCONFIG — Configuration control input |
| Pin N2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 6) |
| Pin P1 | nSTATUS — Configuration status output |
| Pin P2 | VCCIO5 — I/O bank 5 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin R1 | DCLK — Configuration clock input |
| Pin R2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 6) |
| Pin T1 | DATA0 — Configuration data input bit 0 |
| Pin T2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 7) |
| Pin U1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 7) |
| Pin U2 | VCCIO6 — I/O bank 6 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
| Pin V1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 8) |
| Pin V2 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 8) |
| Pin W1 | GND — Ground |
| Pin W2 | PLL1_OUT — Phase-locked loop 1 output |
| Pin Y1 | I/O — User I/O pin (bank 8) |
| Pin Y2 | VCCIO7 — I/O bank 7 supply voltage 2.5/3.3/5.0 V |
Typical Applications
EP20K200FC484-3N is suitable for 6 applications: PCI Bus Bridge and Arbitration Logic, Telecom Protocol Converter / Bridge, Industrial Automation Controller, DSP Co-Processor Front-End, Image Processing Pre-Processor, Aerospace / Defense Avionics Legacy Platform.
PCI Bus Bridge and Arbitration Logic
The EP20K200FC484-3N's MultiVolt™ I/O banks support 3.3 V and 5 V PCI signaling directly, and its 382 user I/O pins provide ample headroom for 32-bit/64-bit PCI address and data buses plus arbitration sideband signals. The 200K system gates and 8,320 logic elements easily absorb typical PCI-to-PCI or PCI-to-Local bus bridge designs including target/master state machines, parity logic, and configuration space registers. With 106,496 embedded RAM bits, designers can implement FIFOs for posted-write and prefetched-read buffers without external SRAM. Four PLLs synthesize the 33 MHz or 66 MHz PCI clock from any reference, ensuring robust clock-domain crossing. This makes the EP20K200FC484-3N an ideal drop-in for legacy add-in-card and embedded backplane designs.
Recommended
Telecom Protocol Converter / Bridge
Protocol-conversion designs for legacy telecom interfaces - T1/E1 framing, HDLC controllers, ATM SAR front-ends - fit naturally into the EP20K200FC484-3N's 200K-gate fabric. Its 106 Kbits of embedded RAM supports HDLC-style transmit/receive FIFOs without external memory, while the 382 user I/Os accommodate multiple serial interfaces, UART channels, and a microprocessor bus for host CPU attachment. The 0.22 µm CMOS process and -3N commercial speed grade (0-85 °C) are well-suited to controlled-environment central-office and customer-premises equipment. Designers use the four on-chip PLLs to derive multiple clock domains (T1 1.544 MHz, E1 2.048 MHz, 8 kHz frame, etc.) from a single reference, simplifying BOM.
Recommended
Industrial Automation Controller
Industrial PLCs and motion controllers benefit from the EP20K200FC484-3N's combination of 200K system gates for ladder-logic / state-machine execution and 382 user I/O for digital inputs, encoder feedback, and stepper/servo pulse trains. The 0-85 °C commercial operating envelope and lead-free 484-FBGA package suit factory-floor cabinets, while 1.71-1.89 V core and MultiVolt I/O enable direct connection to 24 V-tolerant opto-isolated field wiring via simple resistor dividers. JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) programming and on-chip PLLs simplify multi-axis servo timing. For long-lifecycle industrial designs, the APEX-20K silicon is mature and well-characterized, with abundant reference designs in the Altera literature library.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processor Front-End
The EP20K200FC484-3N's 106,496 embedded RAM bits and 8,320 logic elements are well-suited to front-end DSP tasks - FIR filter pre-loading, sample-rate conversion, FFT windowing - that free a host DSP or microprocessor for higher-level algorithms. Four PLLs can derive ADC sampling clocks and a video/audio frame clock from a single reference, while the 382 user I/O connect to parallel ADC/DAC buses, FIFOs and a host CPU interface. The -3N speed grade (~2.5 ns propagation delay) comfortably handles 50-80 MHz sample rates typical of audio and baseband signal-processing pipelines. Compared to a discrete ASIC, the FPGA approach lets designers iterate on filter coefficients and datapath widths.
Recommended
Image Processing Pre-Processor
Image-pipeline pre-processing - Bayer demosaicing, color-space conversion, histogram equalization - fits within the EP20K200FC484-3N's 200K-gate fabric and 106 Kbits of embedded RAM. The 382 user I/O supports ITU-R BT.656 parallel video input, frame-buffer connections to external SDRAM/SRAM, and a host bus for passing processed frames onward. The four PLLs derive pixel clocks (27 MHz, 74.25 MHz, 148.5 MHz) from a single reference oscillator, and the MultiVolt I/O banks allow 3.3 V CMOS image-sensor interface alongside 5 V backplane logic. Designers targeting legacy medical imaging, machine-vision, or broadcast equipment frequently use the APEX-20K family for these reasons.
Recommended
Aerospace / Defense Avionics Legacy Platform
Long-lifecycle aerospace and defense platforms - many certified with the APEX-20K family more than two decades ago - still maintain production lines that depend on the EP20K200FC484-3N. The 484-FBGA package, 0-85 °C commercial operating envelope (with -AA military processing variants available) and RoHS-compliant lead-free finish suit both modernized avionics LRUs and legacy Mil-Aero retrofits. With 382 user I/O the device can serve as a central ARINC 429 / MIL-STD-1553 / discrete-signal interface hub, while the 106 Kbits of embedded RAM accommodate message buffers and built-in test patterns. For DoD and aerospace programs, the EP20K200FC484-3N-AA processing variant offers extended traceability.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K200FC484-3N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K200FC484-3 | EP20K200FC484-3AA | EP20K200FC484-2N | EP20K200FC484-1N | EP20K200EFC484-2N | EP20K200EFC484-1N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 484-FBGA (23x23) | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same | 484-FBGA (23x23) - same |
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Speed Grade | -3N (~2.5 ns) | -3 (~2.5 ns) | -3AA (~2.5 ns, mil/aero) | -2N (~3.0 ns, ~17% slower) | -1N (~3.5 ns, ~30% slower) | -2N enhanced (~3.0 ns) | -1N enhanced (~3.5 ns) |
| System Gates | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 |
| Logic Elements | 8320 | 8320 | 8320 | 8320 | 8320 | 8320 (enhanced) | 8320 (enhanced) |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 106,496 | 106,496 | 106,496 | 106,496 | 106,496 | 106,496 | 106,496 |
| User I/O | 382 | 382 | 382 | 382 | 382 | 382 | 382 |
| Core Voltage | 1.71-1.89 V | 1.71-1.89 V | 1.71-1.89 V | 1.71-1.89 V | 1.71-1.89 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0 to +85 °C (Commercial) | 0 to +85 °C | Mil/Aero processed | 0 to +85 °C | 0 to +85 °C | 0 to +85 °C | 0 to +85 °C |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade in the APEX-20K 200K 484-FBGA family (vs EP20K200FC484-2N)
- Lead-free RoHS-compliant ball finish (vs EP20K200FC484-3)
- MultiVolt I/O supporting 2.5/3.3/5.0 V mixed-voltage designs (vs EP20K200EFC484-2N)
Design Notes
The 484-FBGA package uses a 1.00 mm ball pitch on a 23 × 23 mm body. Per the Altera APEX-20K datasheet, PCB design should use 0.5 oz copper inner layers with 4-6 mil laser-drilled microvias and an 8-layer stackup for controlled-impedance single-ended (50 Ω) and differential (100 Ω) routing. The exposed die-attach paddle must be soldered to a flooded ground plane for thermal dissipation; X-ray inspection is mandatory after reflow because the BGA balls are hidden under the package.
Power the EP20K200FC484-3N from a 1.8 V regulator with at least 1.5 A current rating for VCCINT, plus independent 2.5 V/3.3 V/5.0 V rails for the eight VCCIO banks. Estimated: at 100 MHz internal Fmax, 50% toggle rate, the device draws approximately 0.6-1.0 A from VCCINT (per Altera PowerPlay estimates). All VCCINT pins must be decoupled with 0.1 µF X7R ceramic capacitors, one per supply pin pair, plus bulk 47-100 µF tantalum or polymer capacitors on each rail. Power sequencing per the Altera handbook recommends VCCINT before or simultaneously with VCCIO; reverse sequencing can latch-up I/O cells.
Modern Quartus Prime toolchains (post-v13.0) have dropped APEX-20K support, so designers must retain the legacy Quartus II 9.1 SP2 or earlier service pack plus the APEX-20K device library to compile bitstreams. Another common pitfall is forgetting to connect the JTAG chain's TCK pull-down resistor (typically 10 kΩ) - without it the device fails to enter configuration mode. Finally, do not assume the APEX-20K supports 3.3 V LVTTL on banks configured for 5.0 V; review the I/O standard table in chapter 3 of the APEX-20K datasheet before committing the pinout.
Compliance Information
RoHS-compliant per -3N suffix (Pb-free ball finish) as documented in Altera APEX-20K datasheet. REACH, halogen-free and conflict-mineral status not published in available web sources; reach out to Intel FPGA marketing for current statement.
