EP20K400FI784-3 - APEX 20K 400K Gates 784-BGA FPGA | Intel
MPN: EP20K400FI784-3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285 | $285.00 |
| 10 | $245 | $2,450.00 |
| 50 | $210 | $10,500.00 |
| 100 | $180 | $18,000.00 |
| 250 | $155 | $38,750.00 |
EP20K400FI784-3 Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor integrated circuit built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, and I/O cells that can be re-programmed after manufacturing. APEX 20K combines logic, memory, and high-speed I/O on a single die, making it a precursor to modern system-on-chip FPGAs. Within the broader taxonomy, the EP20K400FI784-3 belongs to: FPGA -> Programmable Logic -> Logic IC -> Integrated Circuit -> Semiconductor.
Key features include up to 400K typical gates (approx. 16,640 logic elements), 4 dedicated inputs, on-chip PLL for clock management, multi-standard I/O support, and embedded system blocks (ESBs) usable as dual-port RAM, FIFO, or CAM. The 784-ball PBGA package has a 1.000 mm terminal pitch, 2.7000 mm seated height maximum, and plastic/epoxy body material.
The architecture uses SRAM configuration cells that must be loaded from an external configuration device on every power-up. Speed grade -3 denotes the slowest of the three commercial/industrial grades offered in this family, trading Fmax for the lowest price position. The device supports 3.3 V, 32-bit PCI, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and GTL+ I/O standards via flexible I/O banks.
Typical applications include telecommunications line cards, industrial control and automation, ASIC prototyping, and high-speed data acquisition front-ends. The embedded memory and DSP-friendly MegaFunction blocks make the device well-suited for pre-silicon validation of complex digital systems.
When designing with the EP20K400FI784-3, ensure a stable 2.5 V core supply with proper decoupling and that the configuration EPROM is sized appropriately for the bitstream. Speed grade -3 is recommended only when timing closure is comfortably met; choose -2 or -1 if the design approaches Fmax limits.
This page synthesizes distributor availability, drop-in same-family alternatives, and practical design guidance beyond what is captured in the original APEX 20K datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K400FI784-3 — 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 EP20K400FI784-3 (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:
EP20K400FI784-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$82.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FI784-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-2
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400FC784-1
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$92 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400EFI784-3
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K400FI784-3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX 20K |
| Typical Gate Count | 400,000 gates |
| Dedicated Inputs | 4 |
| Supply Voltage (Nominal) | 2.5 V |
| Supply Voltage Range | 2.375 V to 2.625 V |
| Speed Grade | -3 (slowest) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +100 °C (industrial) |
| Package | 784-ball PBGA (Fine-pitch BGA) |
| Package Code | BGA |
| Package Shape | Square |
| Terminal Pitch | 1.000 mm |
| Seated Height (max) | 2.7000 mm |
| Body Material | Plastic / Epoxy |
| MSL Level | 3 |
| Configuration Method | SRAM (external EPROM required) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Process Technology | 0.18 µm CMOS SRAM |
EP20K400FI784-3 square Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP20K400FI784-3 (square 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 EP20K400FI784-3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP20K400FI784-3 is suitable for 7 applications: Telecommunications Line Cards, Industrial Control and Automation, ASIC Prototyping and Pre-Silicon Validation, High-Speed Data Acquisition Front-Ends, Military and Aerospace Embedded Systems, Networking and Router Line Cards, Medical Imaging Pre-Processing.
Telecommunications Line Cards
The EP20K400FI784-3 fits telecommunications line cards because its 400K typical gates and embedded system blocks (ESBs) provide enough logic capacity for protocol bridging, framing, and traffic shaping on T1/E1, E3, and early SONET/SDH interfaces. The industrial temperature range (-40°C to +100°C) allows deployment in outdoor cabinets and central office racks without thermal derating. Its 3.3 V PCI I/O standard and multi-standard support (LVTTL, SSTL, GTL+) connect directly to legacy PHY devices. The 784-ball PBGA package offers the signal integrity needed for parallel bus widths of 32-64 bits at moderate clock rates, while embedded RAM blocks implement FIFO and ring buffers without external SRAM. Engineers can use the APEX 20K MegaFunction library to instantiate UART, HDLC, and ATM framer cores directly.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Automation
The EP20K400FI784-3 is well-suited to industrial control and factory automation because its 400K typical gate capacity can host motion-control state machines, PID loops, encoder interfaces, and fieldbus protocol stacks (Profibus, CANopen, Modbus) on a single device. The -40°C to +100°C industrial temperature range tolerates cabinet environments near motors and drives. Its multi-standard I/O (LVTTL, LVCMOS, 3.3 V PCI, GTL+) directly interfaces to 5 V-tolerant level shifters and legacy 24 V PLC backplanes. Embedded system blocks implement deterministic dual-port RAM for inter-process communication. Speed grade -3 is sufficient because most industrial loop rates stay below 50 MHz, and the low price position of this grade keeps BOM cost competitive for high-volume machinery. JTAG configuration enables in-field firmware updates over the factory network.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Pre-Silicon Validation
The EP20K400FI784-3 is widely used as an ASIC prototyping vehicle because the 400K typical gates map to mid-complexity ASICs in the 100K-300K usable gate range, and the APEX 20K architecture allows engineers to map RTL designs from synthesis tools directly onto silicon. The 784-ball PBGA package exposes enough user I/O (~488 I/O pins depending on bank assignment) to bring out all relevant ASIC signals plus JTAG and debug headers. Speed grade -3 is acceptable for functional validation; designers switch to -1 or -2 for timing closure. The device supports mixed-voltage I/O banks (1.5 V to 3.3 V), allowing direct connection to DDR memory PHYs and 3.3 V ASIC companions. Quartus II synthesis and place-and-route flows provide timing-accurate correlation to final ASIC sign-off.
Recommended
High-Speed Data Acquisition Front-Ends
The EP20K400FI784-3 fits high-speed data acquisition front-ends because its parallel multiplier-friendly MegaFunction blocks and embedded RAM enable digital down-conversion, FIR filtering, and sample buffering at rates up to ~80 MHz in speed grade -3. Multi-standard I/O (LVDS via soft logic, LVCMOS, SSTL) accepts high-speed ADC outputs directly without external glue logic. The 400K typical gates provide enough capacity for a complete channel including NCO, mixer, decimator, and PCI interface for host transfer. Industrial temperature rating allows deployment in test-and-measurement chassis and field-portable instrumentation. The 784-ball PBGA provides the signal integrity required for 16-32 bit ADC buses at 50-100 MSPS, while embedded system blocks implement the necessary dual-port RAM for ping-pong buffering.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Embedded Systems
The EP20K400FI784-3 industrial temperature grade (-40°C to +100°C) supports many military and aerospace embedded systems where full MIL-STD-883 screening is not required, such as ground-station equipment, unmanned vehicle payloads, and avionics subsystems in pressurized bays. Its 400K typical gates allow implementation of sensor fusion, navigation Kalman filters, and communication protocol stacks (1553B, ARINC 429) on a single device. The plastic/epoxy PBGA package is acceptable for non-flight-critical applications, and the SRAM configuration scheme supports encrypted bitstreams for some security-sensitive missions. Speed grade -3 is well-suited to the conservative clock rates of military designs, and the mature APEX 20K toolchain (Quartus II) provides DoD-relevant verification flows. Legacy maintenance programs benefit most from continued availability of this footprint-compatible part.
Recommended
Networking and Router Line Cards
The EP20K400FI784-3 fits networking and router line-card applications because its multi-standard I/O (LVTTL, GTL+, HSTL, SSTL) interfaces directly to network PHY devices and switch fabric ASICs of the early 2000s era. The 400K typical gates provide capacity for forwarding tables, route lookup engines, queue managers, and per-port statistics counters. Embedded system blocks implement the CAM/TCAM and FIFO structures needed for cut-through switching and traffic shaping. Speed grade -3 supports 66 MHz PCI and 100 MHz external memory buses comfortably for 100-Mbps Ethernet line cards. The 784-ball PBGA package exposes enough I/O to bring out 8-12 ports plus fabric interfaces, and the industrial temperature rating allows deployment in controlled-environment central offices.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Pre-Processing
The EP20K400FI784-3 is suitable for medical imaging pre-processing subsystems (ultrasound beamformers, endoscopy controllers, MRI front-end digitizers) where the 400K typical gates implement real-time filtering, scan conversion, and digital gain control. Industrial temperature rating accommodates clinical environments with controlled but variable ambient conditions. Embedded system blocks implement the line buffers and coefficient tables required for 2D convolution kernels. Multi-standard I/O connects directly to analog front-end ADCs and LVDS camera links. Speed grade -3 is acceptable because ultrasound and endoscopy frame rates stay below 30 MHz pixel clocks. The mature APEX 20K platform simplifies regulatory documentation because vendors can reference established design histories, while JTAG configuration enables field firmware updates for approved product revisions.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K400FI784-3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K400FI784-2 | EP20K400FI784-1 | EP20K400FC784-3 | EP20K400FC784-2 | EP20K400FC784-1 | EP20K400EFI784-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 784-ball PBGA | 784-ball PBGA - same | 784-ball PBGA - same | 784-ball PBGA - same | 784-ball PBGA - same | 784-ball PBGA - same | 784-ball PBGA - same |
| Typical Gates | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 | 400,000 |
| Supply Voltage | 2.5 V (2.375-2.625 V) | 2.5 V (same) | 2.5 V (same) | 2.5 V (same) | 2.5 V (same) | 2.5 V (same) | 2.5 V (same) |
| Speed Grade | -3 (slowest) | -2 (faster) | -1 (fastest) | -3 (same) | -2 (faster) | -1 (fastest) | -3 (same) |
| Temperature Range | Industrial -40°C to +100°C | Industrial -40°C to +100°C | Industrial -40°C to +100°C | Commercial 0°C to +85°C | Commercial 0°C to +85°C | Commercial 0°C to +85°C | Industrial -40°C to +100°C |
| Silicon Revision | Base (non-E) | Base | Base | Base | Base | Base | Enhanced (E) |
| Pin-to-Pin Compatible | Yes (baseline) | Yes - drop-in | Yes - drop-in | Yes - drop-in (temp only diff) | Yes - drop-in | Yes - drop-in | Yes - drop-in |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade in 784-ball PBGA package (vs EP20K400FC784-3)
- Lowest-cost speed grade option (vs EP20K400FI784-1)
- 400K typical gate capacity - same die as the family flagship (vs EP20K300EBC652-3)
Design Notes
EP20K400FI784-3 requires a stable 2.5 V core supply within the tight 2.375 V to 2.625 V window; voltage excursions outside this range will corrupt the SRAM configuration cells and may damage the device. Place 100 µF bulk tantalum plus 0.1 µF and 0.01 µF ceramic decoupling capacitors within 5 mm of every power ball. Use a dedicated LDO regulator such as the LT1764-2.5 or TPS7A4525 with 1.5 A rating and 100 mV maximum dropout. Power-on ramp time should be monotonic and <100 ms to avoid configuration lock-up. I/O banks may use independent supplies (1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, 3.3 V) but each bank supply must rise within the core supply window to prevent latch-up. Estimated: total quiescent current is approximately 0.5-1.2 A at 2.5 V depending on logic utilization and clock rate.
The 784-ball PBGA package has a typical theta-JA of approximately 8-12 °C/W with proper thermal via array under the exposed die region; this is essential because APEX 20K devices at high toggle rates can dissipate 4-8 W. Recommended PCB thermal pattern: at least 6×6 thermal via array (0.3 mm drill, 0.6 mm pad) on 1.0 mm pitch directly under the die, connecting to an internal copper plane. Without thermal vias, junction temperature can exceed 125 °C and trigger thermal shutdown. In enclosed chassis, derate clock frequency or add forced airflow (1 m/s minimum) when ambient exceeds 70 °C. Industrial temperature grade parts (FI suffix) must operate reliably across -40 °C to +100 °C, so adequate thermal margin is non-negotiable.
The 784-ball PBGA with 1.000 mm ball pitch requires 4-6 layer PCB stack-up with microvia or laser-drilled via technology for breakout; dog-bone fanout is acceptable but reduces routing density. Maintain 50 Ω controlled impedance on all clocks and high-speed I/O traces, and 90 Ω differential for LVDS pairs (if used). Keep all configuration and JTAG traces away from switching power converters and clock edges to avoid noise-induced configuration errors. Solder paste stencil aperture should be 0.4 mm for the 0.6 mm ball pads to prevent solder bridging. Always include test points for JTAG (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO) at the board edge for boundary-scan and in-system programming. Clean no-clean flux residue only if conformal coating is applied for humidity protection.
Do not assume speed grade -3 will meet timing on a design migrated from -1 or -2 without re-running Quartus II timing analysis - the Fmax can be 30-40 % lower and long combinational paths will fail. Do not power-cycle the device faster than the configuration EPROM can respond (typically 100 ms minimum cycle); rapid power toggling can lock the configuration state machine. Do not connect any I/O pin to voltages above the bank supply rating during power-up sequencing, or latch-up can destroy the device. Do not skip the external pull-up on nCONFIG and pull-down on nSTATUS pins; these must be present for reliable configuration. Do not omit the EPC configuration EPROM - SRAM FPGAs cannot retain their bitstream without it. Lastly, do not rely on cached web distributor stock for production planning - this is an obsolete part and stock is volatile.
Compliance Information
APEX 20K family pre-dates widespread RoHS adoption; specific compliance status for EP20K400FI784-3 was not present in the verified web data - verify with your distributor before design-in. AEC-Q100 not applicable (industrial/consumer FPGA, not automotive-qualified).
