EP20K400FC672-3X - APEX 20K 400K Gates FPGA, 672-BGA | Altera
MPN: EP20K400FC672-3X ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $245 | $245.00 |
| 10 | $220.5 | $2,205.00 |
| 100 | $189 | $18,900.00 |
| 500 | $168.75 | $84,375.00 |
| 1,000 | $152.4 | $152,400.00 |
EP20K400FC672-3X Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor integrated circuit containing configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, and I/O cells that the designer can program after manufacture using a hardware description language (HDL). FPGAs occupy the middle ground between fixed-function ASICs and software-driven processors: they deliver hardware-level parallelism and deterministic latency while remaining fully re-programmable. APEX 20K is a system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) family combining look-up-table logic with embedded cache logic (CAM) and dual-port RAM, enabling a single chip to host microcontrollers, datapaths, memory, and high-speed interfaces.
Key features of the EP20K400FC672-3X include 16,640 logic elements, 1664 macrocells, MultiCore LUT/CAM architecture, 2.5 V core supply, JTAG/IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan support, in-system programmability via Altera ByteBlaster or MasterBlaster, and a per-pin I/O slew-rate control. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package supports high-density board layouts with controlled-impedance traces for clock distribution and high-speed LVDS/HSTL signaling.
Typical applications include telecommunication line cards, high-speed data-acquisition systems, DSP co-processing front-ends, and industrial control backplanes where parallel logic, large embedded memory, and high I/O count are required. The 502-pin I/O budget comfortably accommodates wide memory buses (e.g., 64-bit SDRAM) alongside multiple standard interfaces such as PCI, UTOPIA, or POS-PHY. The 0.22 µm process offers robust 3.3 V/5 V PCI compatibility that newer sub-100 nm FPGAs have abandoned.
Designers should note that the APEX 20K family is mature and approaching end-of-life; long-term availability should be verified against Altera/Intel lifecycle notices before committing to new production designs. The 672-ball BGA requires multilayer PCB fabrication with microvia or via-in-pad technology for reliable assembly and controlled-impedance routing. When migrating to newer families, consider Altera Cyclone III/IV/V or Stratix equivalents, although footprint and core-voltage changes will require PCB re-layout.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K400FC672-3X — 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 EP20K400FC672-3X (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K400FC672-3V
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$152 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC672-3
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$138 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400EFC672-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$199.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400EFC672-3N
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$171 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400EFC672-2X
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$118.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400EFC672-2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$171 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC672-3X Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Logic Family | APEX 20K |
| Device Sub-family | EP20K400 |
| Technology | CMOS 0.22 µm |
| Number of Gates | 400,000 (typical) |
| Logic Cells | 16,640 |
| Macros / Macrocells | 1664 |
| User I/Os | 502 |
| Dedicated I/O Lines | 496 |
| Core Supply Voltage | 2.5 V |
| Maximum Clock Frequency | 181.82 MHz |
| Typical Propagation Delay | 2.07 ns |
| Operating Temperature | 0 °C to 85 °C (commercial) |
| Speed Grade | -3X |
| Package | 672-ball FC-FBGA (Fine-pitch Chip-Scale BGA) |
| Architecture | MultiCore (LUT + embedded CAM/RAM) |
| Programming Interface | JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) / ByteBlaster / MasterBlaster |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP20K400FC672-3X 672-ball fc-fbga (fine-pitch chip-scale bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP20K400FC672-3X (672-ball fc-fbga (fine-pitch chip-scale bga) 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 EP20K400FC672-3X.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP20K400FC672-3X is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunication Line Cards, High-Speed Data Acquisition, DSP Co-Processing Front-Ends, Industrial Control Backplanes, Image Processing Pipelines, Legacy PCI Bridge / Expansion Systems.
Telecommunication Line Cards
The EP20K400FC672-3X is well suited to telecom line-card designs requiring high I/O density and parallel datapath processing. Its 502 user I/O pins comfortably accommodate UTOPIA, POS-PHY, or SPI-4.2 interfaces alongside a 64-bit SDRAM bus, while the 181.82 MHz maximum clock frequency at the -3X speed grade supports multi-channel DS3/E3 framer aggregation. The 16,640 logic cells provide ample headroom for custom packet-header classification, traffic shaping, and TCAM-style lookups using the embedded CAM blocks. The APEX 20K MultiCore architecture integrates LUT logic with embedded dual-port RAM, eliminating external glue logic and shrinking BOM cost compared to LUT-only FPGAs of the same era.
Recommended
High-Speed Data Acquisition
The EP20K400FC672-3X excels in data-acquisition front-ends where ADC samples must be buffered, processed, and forwarded to a host processor in real time. The 181.82 MHz clock supports pipelined DSP blocks for FIR filtering and FFT pre-processing, while the 502 I/O pins enable direct parallel capture from multi-channel 14-/16-bit ADCs operating up to 200 MSPS. The 2.07 ns typical propagation delay ensures deterministic latency for time-critical trigger paths, and the embedded CAM blocks accelerate histogram and pattern-matching tasks. The 2.5 V core combined with 3.3 V/5 V tolerant I/O banks interfaces cleanly to legacy ADCs without level-shifters.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processing Front-Ends
In DSP co-processing front-ends, the EP20K400FC672-3X offloads compute-intensive kernels (FIR, FFT, correlation) from a host CPU or DSP chip. The 16,640 logic cells can implement 8-16 parallel multiply-accumulate engines at the -3X speed grade, achieving 1-2 GOPS of integer throughput. The 502 I/O budget supports glueless connection to TI TMS320C6000 host ports or PowerPC processor buses. The MultiCore architecture's embedded dual-port RAM serves as coefficient and sample buffers without consuming external SRAM, and the JTAG interface simplifies on-board debug and trace capture during algorithm validation.
Recommended
Industrial Control Backplanes
The EP20K400FC672-3X is a strong fit for industrial backplane controllers that aggregate field-bus traffic (Profibus, CANopen, Modbus) and bridge to Ethernet/IP or EtherCAT. The 502 I/O budget easily handles 16-32 isolated serial channels plus a 32-bit parallel data bus, and the 0-85 °C commercial operating range suits factory-floor environments. The device's MultiCore architecture supports custom state-machine logic for real-time protocol termination, and its 2.5 V core with 3.3 V/5 V I/O tolerance bridges directly to legacy 5 V transceivers without external level translation. Long-term availability risk must be assessed for new deployments given the Last-Time-Buy status.
Recommended
Image Processing Pipelines
The EP20K400FC672-3X enables real-time image-processing pipelines for machine vision, medical imaging, and surveillance systems. The 16,640 logic cells can implement parallel convolution, Sobel edge detection, and morphological operators at VGA-to-XGA resolutions, while the 502 I/O pins accommodate direct Camera Link or LVDS image-sensor interfaces. The 181.82 MHz clock at the -3X speed grade supports 30+ fps processing at common sensor resolutions, and the embedded CAM blocks accelerate color-space conversion LUTs. The 2.07 ns typical propagation delay ensures predictable pixel-pipeline latency, critical for closed-loop motion-control and vision-guided robotics.
Recommended
Legacy PCI Bridge / Expansion Systems
The EP20K400FC672-3X is ideal for legacy PCI/PCI-X bridge and expansion designs where 3.3 V/5 V tolerance is mandatory. The 502 I/O budget supports full 64-bit/66 MHz PCI-X bus plus multiple downstream expansion slots, and the MultiCore architecture implements transaction translators, arbiter, and interrupt-controller functions in a single device. The 181.82 MHz clock at the -3X speed grade comfortably exceeds PCI-X 66 MHz timing margins, and the embedded dual-port RAM serves as posted-write buffers and read-prefetch caches. Newer Cyclone/Stratix families have dropped 5 V tolerance, so APEX 20K remains preferred for brownfield PCI designs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K400FC672-3X — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K400FC672-3V | EP20K400FC672-3 | EP20K400EFC672-3 | EP20K400EFC672-3N | EP20K400EFC672-2X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | 672-ball FC-FBGA | 672-ball FC-FBGA - same | 672-ball FC-FBGA - same | 672-ball FC-FBGA - same | 672-ball FC-FBGA - same | 672-ball FC-FBGA - same |
| Logic Cells | 16,640 | 16,640 | 16,640 | 16,640 | 16,640 | 16,640 |
| Macrocells | 1664 | 1664 | 1664 | 1664 | 1664 | 1664 |
| User I/Os | 502 | 502 | 502 | 502 | 502 | 502 |
| Speed Grade | -3X | -3V | -3 | -3 | -3N | -2X |
| Core Voltage | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V | 2.5 V |
| Architecture Variant | Base MultiCore | Base MultiCore | Base MultiCore | Enhanced (E) MultiCore | Enhanced (E) MultiCore | Enhanced (E) MultiCore |
Key Differentiators
- Extended speed screening (-3X) versus standard -3 speed grade (vs EP20K400FC672-3)
- Base MultiCore variant with 16,640 logic cells, 1664 macrocells (vs EP20K400EFC672-3N)
- 672-ball FC-FBGA package with 502 user I/O pins (vs EP20K400EBC652-3N (652-ball BGA))
- 2.5 V core with 3.3 V/5 V I/O tolerance (vs Cyclone III/IV/Stratix (sub-100 nm))
Design Notes
The 672-ball FC-FBGA package uses a 1.00 mm ball pitch, which mandates multilayer PCB fabrication with microvia or via-in-pad technology. Standard 8-mil through-via fanout cannot reliably capture the fine-pitch balls; use 4-mil laser-drilled microvias with filled-and-plated caps. Per Altera APEX 20K datasheet pinout guidelines, route all VCCINT and VCCIO balls through individual power planes with 0.1 µF X7R decoupling capacitors placed within 100 mils of each supply ball, and add 10 µF bulk tantalum capacitors every 12 supply balls to suppress transient droop.
Do not assume a -3 speed-grade part can substitute for the -3X variant in production without re-qualifying timing closure. The -3X speed grade is tested at the upper commercial temperature limit (85 °C) for guaranteed 181.82 MHz operation; a -3 part may fail timing at elevated board temperatures. Per Altera's speed-grade nomenclature, the -X suffix denotes extended-screening with tighter delay specifications. Similarly, do not confuse the E-suffix (enhanced routing/memory) with the base variant - Quartus compiles are generally portable but timing models differ in the enhanced memory block paths.
Estimated: at maximum toggle activity (181.82 MHz, 50% utilization of 16,640 logic cells), the EP20K400FC672-3X dissipates approximately 3-4 W typical from the 2.5 V core supply. The FC-FBGA package's theta_JA of approximately 12 °C/W (with 4-layer PCB and minimal airflow) implies a junction temperature rise of 36-48 °C above ambient. Provide 200 LFM of forced airflow for continuous operation at full toggle rate above 70 °C ambient, or de-rate fMAX by 1 % per °C above 70 °C. Expose the thermal pad balls (if present on this BGA variant) to a continuous ground plane stitch for heat spreading.
For LVDS or HSTL signaling on the EP20K400FC672-3X, route differential pairs with 100 Ω differential impedance and match trace lengths to within 50 mils to avoid skew-induced jitter. Per Altera APEX 20K datasheet I/O specifications, the maximum LVDS toggle rate is 624 Mbps at the -3X speed grade. Place source-termination resistors within 200 mils of the FPGA output balls, and use AC-coupling capacitors for LVDS links exceeding 5 Gbps aggregate bandwidth to block DC bias.
Configure the JTAG chain order in Quartus II before PCB layout finalization to avoid hand-routing the TCK/TMS/TDO/TDI signals across the entire board. Per Altera's BSDL file for APEX 20K, pin names and JTAG IDs are device-specific; requesting a fresh BSDL from Intel/Altera is recommended for boundary-scan test development. Leave at least one GPIO ball per BGA row accessible for in-system debug probes, and provide a 2-pin header for the ByteBlasterMV or USB-Blaster cable connection.
Compliance Information
RoHS/REACH/lead-free status not stated in the provided distributor listings for EP20K400FC672-3X. Some APEX 20K variants are available in both SnPb and Pb-free (N suffix) ball compositions - the absence of an N suffix in -3X suggests SnPb ball composition; verify against lot-specific manufacturer documentation before use in Pb-free assembly lines. AEC-Q100 not applicable for commercial-grade FPGA.
