EP20K600CB652I7N - APEX 20KC FPGA 600K Gates BGA-652 | Intel
MPN: EP20K600CB652I7N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $245 | $245.00 |
| 10 | $228.5 | $2,285.00 |
| 100 | $198.75 | $19,875.00 |
| 500 | $175.25 | $87,625.00 |
| 1,000 | $158 | $158,000.00 |
EP20K600CB652I7N Overview
What is an FPGA? An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory, and programmable interconnect that can be re-programmed at the hardware level to implement arbitrary digital logic. APEX 20KC extends the APEX 20K architecture with MultiCore interconnect, embedded system blocks (ESBs) for memory, and a hierarchy of look-up-table based logic elements. FPGAs sit within the programmable logic hierarchy: FPGA -> programmable logic device (PLD) -> digital IC -> semiconductor.
Key features include 24,320 logic elements, 311,040 bits of embedded system block memory, four Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs), and a low-voltage 1.8 V core with multi-voltage I/O support. The device supports high-speed LVDS I/O, dedicated Double Data Rate (DDR) memory interfaces, and JTAG-based in-system programmability via IEEE 1149.1, making it suitable for I/O-intensive designs.
Architecturally, APEX 20KC uses Altera's MultiCore interconnect with rows and columns of MegaLAB structures, each containing 16 Logic Elements plus an Embedded System Block. The 0.15 µm process gives a balance of density and performance, with internal speeds up to 375.94 MHz. The FineLine BGA-652 package provides high I/O count with controlled-impedance routing for high-speed designs.
Typical applications include high-speed telecommunications backplanes, ASIC prototyping, DSP co-processing, and high-density glue-logic replacement. The 652-pin BGA exposes the device's full I/O capacity, making it appropriate for interface bridging and parallel processing tasks in networking equipment.
When designing with this device, pay attention to power-supply sequencing (the 1.8 V VCCINT must ramp before VCCIO banks to avoid I/O latch-up) and ensure proper thermal management with sufficient PCB copper area under the BGA's thermal balls. Configuration memory is volatile and must be loaded from a PROM at every power-up.
This page synthesizes APEX 20KC family specifications, drop-in alternatives from the Site MPN list, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet, presented for engineers maintaining legacy APEX 20K designs.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K600CB652I7N — 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 EP20K600CB652I7N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Process Technology, Maximum Operating Frequency, Device Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K600CB652I8N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CB652I9
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$165 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CB652I7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$149 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CB652C7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K400CB652I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K600CB652I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX 20KC |
| Typical Gates | 600,000 |
| Logic Elements (Cells) | 24,320 |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 375.94 MHz |
| Process Technology | 0.15 µm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.8 V |
| Package | 652-pin FineLine BGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Embedded System Block (ESB) Memory | 311,040 bits |
| Phase-Locked Loops (PLLs) | 4 |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +100C) |
| Speed Grade | 7 |
| Configuration Method | SRAM-based, JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) |
| RoHS Status | unknown |
EP20K600CB652I7N 652-pin fineline bga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP20K600CB652I7N (652-pin fineline 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 EP20K600CB652I7N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP20K600CB652I7N is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunications Backplane Bridge, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, DSP Co-Processing and FIR Filtering, High-Density Glue Logic Consolidation, Industrial Control and Factory Automation, Legacy Network Interface Card (NIC) Design.
Telecommunications Backplane Bridge
The EP20K600CB652I7N's 600K gates and 24,320 logic elements make it a strong fit for telecom backplane bridging applications, where multiple serial protocols (SPI 4.2, POS-PHY, UTOPIA) must be aggregated and rate-matched. The 652-pin FineLine BGA exposes the device's full I/O complement, allowing direct interface to multiple SERDES framer ICs without external muxing. The four PLLs provide independent clock domains for inbound and outbound line cards. At 375.94 MHz internal performance, the EP20K600 can sustain multi-gigabit protocol state machines with single-cycle throughput, while its 311 Kbits of embedded memory buffers packet descriptors and routing tables. The 1.8 V VCCINT keeps power manageable in densely-populated line-card slots.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
With 600K gates and 24,320 LEs the EP20K600CB652I7N served as a workhorse ASIC prototype platform in the early 2000s, mapping multi-million-gate ASIC RTL into a small array of APEX 20KC devices. The 652-pin FineLine BGA exposes sufficient user I/O for partial-pin ASIC emulation, while the 311 Kbits of ESB memory per device buffer test vectors and trace data. The IEEE 1149.1 JTAG interface supports multi-device daisy-chaining for partitioned ASIC prototypes. Speed grade 7 at 375.94 MHz internal performance enables meaningful at-speed functional verification of control-plane logic; datapath verification benefits from the speed-grade 8 variant.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processing and FIR Filtering
The EP20K600CB652I7N's 24,320 LEs and 4 PLLs support parallel DSP co-processing workloads such as multi-channel FIR filtering, FFT engines, and Reed-Solomon forward-error-correction. The 311 Kbits of ESB memory store coefficient tables and intermediate samples with single-cycle access, eliminating external SRAM for moderate filter lengths. The four PLLs derive independent sample-rate clocks for ADC/DAC companion chips, while the high I/O count of the CB652 BGA interfaces directly to parallel data converters without external muxing. The 375.94 MHz internal Fmax supports >100 MHz aggregate DSP throughput.
Recommended
High-Density Glue Logic Consolidation
Replacing dozens of 74-series TTL/CMOS glue-logic packages with a single EP20K600CB652I7N simplifies PCB layout, reduces board area, and improves signal integrity in legacy system redesigns. The 652-pin FineLine BGA exposes hundreds of user I/O, enough to absorb even large bus-arbitration and address-decoding tasks. The SRAM-based configuration is volatile and reloads from an EPC-series configuration PROM at every power-up, providing field-upgradable logic. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +100C) accommodates factory-floor and outdoor enclosures.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Factory Automation
The EP20K600CB652I7N's industrial temperature grade and high logic capacity suit factory-automation controllers, motor-control state machines, and protocol-converter PLC modules. The 24,320 LEs handle multi-axis motion control loops, while the 311 Kbits of ESB memory buffer encoder feedback and trajectory tables. The four PLLs synchronize to encoder inputs and PWM outputs, and the 652-pin BGA's high I/O count interfaces to many parallel sensor buses simultaneously. The 1.8 V VCCINT plus multi-voltage VCCIO supports mixed 3.3 V and 5 V industrial signal environments on the same device.
Recommended
Legacy Network Interface Card (NIC) Design
The EP20K600CB652I7N was widely deployed in early-2000s NIC and line-card designs for protocol termination, packet classification, and DMA engine implementation. The 652-pin BGA provides the I/O density to interface directly to multiple MAC/PHY devices and PCI/PCI-X bus interfaces, while the 600K-gate capacity absorbs packet-processing pipelines and classification lookup tables. The four PLLs generate the independent transmit/receive clocks required by gigabit Ethernet and OC-48 interfaces. Speed-grade 7 performance is sufficient for 1 Gbps line-rate processing without external co-processors.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K600CB652I7N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K600CB652I8N | EP20K600CB652I9 | EP20K600CB652I7 | EP20K600CB652C7N | EP20K400CB652I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 652-pin FineLine BGA | 652-pin FineLine BGA - same | 652-pin FineLine BGA - same | 652-pin FineLine BGA - same | 652-pin FineLine BGA - same | 652-pin FineLine BGA - same |
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Family | APEX 20KC | APEX 20KC | APEX 20KC | APEX 20KC | APEX 20KC | APEX 20KC |
| Typical Gates | 600,000 | 600,000 | 600,000 | 600,000 | 600,000 | 400,000 |
| Logic Elements | 24,320 | 24,320 | 24,320 | 24,320 | 24,320 | 16,640 |
| Speed Grade | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +100C) | Industrial | Industrial | Industrial | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Industrial |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-density APEX 20KC variant with full CB652 pinout (vs EP20K400CB652I7N)
- Speed grade 7 provides conservative timing margin (vs EP20K600CB652I8N)
- Industrial temperature range for harsh environments (vs EP20K600CB652C7N)
Design Notes
The APEX 20KC requires power-supply sequencing: VCCINT (1.8 V core) must ramp before VCCIO banks, otherwise the I/O buffers can back-drive the unpowered core and cause permanent latch-up damage. Use a power-supply sequencer IC or an RC delay network with a PowerGood comparator tied to the 1.8 V regulator enable pin. Decoupling follows the datasheet's recommendation of 100 nF ceramic under each VCCINT ball group and 10 µF bulk tantalum per VCCIO bank, placed as close as the FineLine BGA pitch allows. Estimated ICCINT at 600 MHz operation with all LEs active is approximately 1.5-2 A, so the 1.8 V regulator must supply at least 3 A peak headroom.
The 652-pin FineLine BGA has an exposed thermal pad array that must be soldered to the PCB thermal land with a via-fence heat-sinking pattern. With all 24,320 LEs switching at 100% utilization, junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (θJA) is approximately 8-12 C/W on a 4-layer 1 oz copper PCB per the APEX 20K family datasheet. Estimated: Pdiss at 100% toggle with 1.8 V × 2 A × 0.25 activity factor ≈ 0.9 W, leading to ~10 C temperature rise. Designs that push above 2 W should add a heatsink or thermal interface material.
The FineLine BGA-652 footprint requires microvia or laser-drilled via technology on the inner BGA ball pitch (typically 1.0 mm). Use 0.5 oz copper outer layers and 1 oz inner planes to maintain 50 Ω controlled-impedance routing for high-speed LVDS pairs. Escape routing should fan out on the top layer with via-in-pad or dogbone fan-out; keep differential pair traces matched within 5 mil length to preserve LVDS skew margins. Reference the Altera Device Package Information Data Sheet for the exact ball-pattern land dimensions.
APEX 20KC configuration memory is volatile SRAM: every power-up must reload the bitstream from an EPC-series configuration PROM via JTAG or passive-serial mode. Forgetting the configuration PROM bricks the board on first power-up. Multi-device JTAG chains require unique TDI/TDO ordering per the BYPASS instruction. Finally, do not confuse APEX 20K (2.5 V VCCINT) with APEX 20KC (1.8 V VCCINT); substituting one for the other destroys the silicon. Source: APEX 20K family datasheet (Mouser apex-1299388.pdf).
Compliance Information
Compliance data not present in verified web data; Altera/Intel legacy FPGAs predate widespread RoHS-REACH documentation. RoHS likely compliant per 'I7' industrial grade ordering convention but cannot be confirmed without datasheet cross-reference.
