EP20K400FI784-2 - 400K Gate APEX 20K FPGA, 784-BGA | Altera
MPN: EP20K400FI784-2 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $145 | $145.00 |
| 10 | $128.5 | $1,285.00 |
| 100 | $108.75 | $10,875.00 |
| 250 | $95.2 | $23,800.00 |
| 500 | $82.4 | $41,200.00 |
EP20K400FI784-2 Overview
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K400FI784-2 — 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 EP20K400FI784-2 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Speed Grade, Package, Logic Elements, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K400FI784-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$92 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FI784-2 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Device Family | APEX 20K |
| Typical Gates | 400,000 |
| Dedicated Inputs | 4 |
| Nominal Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 2.5 V |
| VCCINT Range | 2.375 V to 2.625 V |
| Speed Grade | -2 |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40 °C to +100 °C |
| Package Type | S-PBGA-B784 (FineLine BGA) |
| Package Pin Count | 784 balls |
| Ball Pitch | 1.000 mm |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Device Form Factor | Loadable PLD |
| Configuration Memory | SRAM-based (volatile) |
EP20K400FI784-2 784 balls Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP20K400FI784-2 (784 balls 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 EP20K400FI784-2.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP20K400FI784-2 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Backplane Glue Logic, Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Legacy ASIC Replacement, Medical Imaging Data Aggregation, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Legacy Networking Line Cards.
Telecom Backplane Glue Logic
The EP20K400FI784-2 fits telecom backplane glue-logic designs where approximately 400K gates are needed to bridge bus protocols, perform CRC/framing, and aggregate low-speed control planes. Its 784-ball BGA provides abundant user I/O for 32-bit or 64-bit parallel buses, while the industrial -40 to +100 °C range tolerates uncontrolled cabinet temperatures. Designers typically instantiate multiple LVTTL/LVCMOS I/O banks and use the embedded system blocks (ESBs) as small FIFOs or parity RAM.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
Factory automation controllers benefit from the EP20K400FI784-2's combination of approximately 400K gates, embedded RAM for fast look-up tables, and industrial-grade temperature tolerance. Engineers use the APEX 20K device to implement deterministic state machines, encoder/decoder logic for fieldbus protocols, and safety interlocks. The FineLine BGA-784 with 1.0 mm pitch requires a 6+ layer PCB with microvias, which is standard for industrial controller mainboards already designed for high-density BGA logic.
Recommended
Legacy ASIC Replacement
The EP20K400FI784-2 is widely used to replace obsolete ASICs in long-lifecycle programs such as avionics retrofit, military radio, and railway signaling. With approximately 400K gates, designers port netlists from gate-level ASIC tools into Quartus II, preserving logic equivalence while gaining supply-chain resilience. The 2.5 V VCCINT matches older ASIC rails, simplifying power-tree reuse, and the 784-ball BGA offers sufficient I/O for wide memory buses (SRAM, FIFO) common in legacy designs.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Data Aggregation
Medical imaging carts and bedside monitors use the EP20K400FI784-2 to aggregate multiple sensor streams (CCD/CMOS imagers, ultrasound probes) before forwarding compressed data over USB or Ethernet. The APEX 20K's ESB blocks provide fast dual-port RAM for line buffering, while the LUT fabric performs lossless compression and packetization. The industrial temperature range accommodates equipment that warms during continuous imaging. Note: medical safety certification requires additional system-level design; this part is not AEC-Q100 qualified.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
Test and measurement instruments (oscilloscope digitizers, logic analyzers, protocol exercisers) leverage the EP20K400FI784-2 for pattern generation, custom triggering, and high-speed serial protocol decoding. With approximately 400K gates the device can implement parallel data acquisition state machines alongside protocol-aware search engines. The 784-ball FineLine BGA delivers enough user I/O to interface with multi-channel ADC front ends at rates up to 200 MHz when paired with external clock management.
Recommended
Legacy Networking Line Cards
Multi-service edge routers and SDH/SONET line cards deployed in the early 2000s use the EP20K400FI784-2 for cell/packet processing, traffic shaping, and overhead processing. Although modern designs use newer Cyclone or Stratix families, the part remains in service for backward-compatible line-card spares. The 2.5 V VCCINT and 784-ball BGA match existing line-card PCB artwork, allowing direct swap into legacy platforms without re-spin.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K400FI784-2 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K400FI784-1 | EP20K400FC784-2 | EP20K400FC784-3 | EP20K400FC784-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | FineLine BGA-784 (S-PBGA-B784, 1.0 mm pitch) | FineLine BGA-784 (same) | FineLine BGA-784 (same) | FineLine BGA-784 (same) | FineLine BGA-784 (same) |
| Typical Gates | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 |
| Speed Grade | -2 (mid) | -1 (fastest) | -2 (mid) | -3 (slowest) | -1 (fastest) |
| Temperature Range | -40 °C to +100 °C (industrial) | -40 °C to +100 °C (industrial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) | 0 °C to +70 °C (commercial) |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 2.5 V nominal (2.375-2.625 V) | 2.5 V nominal (same) | 2.5 V nominal (same) | 2.5 V nominal (same) | 2.5 V nominal (same) |
| Dedicated Inputs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Speed grade -2 offers better timing margin vs -3 for moderate-speed designs (vs EP20K400FC784-3)
- Industrial temperature range supports harsh-environment deployment (vs EP20K400FC784-2 (commercial))
- Same 784-ball BGA as speed-grade -1 enables drop-in performance upgrade (vs EP20K400FI784-1)
Design Notes
The APEX 20K core requires a tightly regulated 2.5 V supply (range 2.375-2.625 V). Use a low-dropout regulator such as a TPS7A4533 followed by a ferrite bead network feeding the VCCINT pins. Place 100 µF tantalum bulk plus 0.1 µF X7R ceramic bypass capacitors within 100 mil of each VCCINT pin group; APEX 20K power integrity is sensitive to simultaneous switching noise on the parallel core rails.
Although APEX 20K static power is modest, dynamic power scales with toggle rate and can push junction temperatures high in dense designs. The 784-ball FineLine BGA uses a thermal-enhanced lid; thermal pad must be soldered to a flooded copper plane on the top PCB layer with thermal vias to inner ground planes. Derate to 70 percent of rated I/O toggle rate if ambient exceeds 70 °C.
The 1.000 mm pitch FineLine BGA-784 requires a multilayer PCB (at least 6 layers) with microvia or via-in-pad technology to fan out the interior balls. Use 4-mil line/space on outer layers and 1 oz copper inner planes. Follow the APEX 20K package-out reference design from Altera for breakout patterns - non-standard escape routing causes signal-integrity failures on LVDS and SSTL pairs.
Estimated: configuration PROMs must be sized for compressed bitstreams. EP20K400 compressed bitstreams typically fit in an EPC2 (2 Mbit) but only marginally - leave 30 percent headroom. A common pitfall is forgetting nCONFIG or nSTATUS pull-up resistors; if omitted the device fails to enter user mode and stays tri-stated. Always verify JTAG IDCODE before mass production to catch counterfeit or remarked parts.
Use series termination on all LVTTL outputs driving traces longer than 1 inch to match the APEX 20K I/O impedance of approximately 50 ohms. For SSTL2/SSTL3 memory interfaces, route clock and DQS to within 50 mil of matching length to avoid setup/hold violations. Do not share VCCIO banks between 3.3 V LVCMOS and 2.5 V SSTL - this is a frequent board-spin cause.
Compliance Information
RoHS/REACH compliance not verified in provided web data; APEX 20K family predates many modern compliance requirements. AEC-Q100 is not applicable (FPGA, not automotive-grade qualified). For new automotive designs, do not select this part.
