EP20K600CF672I8ES - APEX 20KC 600K Gates FPGA, 672-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP20K600CF672I8ES ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $485 | $485.00 |
| 10 | $460 | $4,600.00 |
| 100 | $425 | $42,500.00 |
| 500 | $395 | $197,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $365 | $365,000.00 |
EP20K600CF672I8ES Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a programmable logic device that allows designers to implement arbitrary digital logic, memory blocks, and I/O via a configuration bitstream loaded into on-chip SRAM after power-up. Within the broader semiconductor taxonomy, the EP20K600CF672I8ES belongs to the hierarchy: programmable logic device -> complex programmable logic device (CPLD) family / FPGA family -> SRAM-based FPGA -> LUT (look-up table) based fine-grained logic architecture. APEX 20KC is Altera's second-generation APEX platform, combining LUT-based logic elements with embedded memory (ES - Enhanced System) blocks.
Key features include 24,320 logic elements organized as Logic Array Blocks (LABs), 311,296 bits of embedded SRAM, multi-voltage I/O supporting 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, and 3.3 V interface standards, four Phase-Locked Loops (PLUs) for clock management, and enhanced in-system programmability via the Fast Passive Parallel (FPP) or Passive Serial (PS) configuration schemes. The I8 suffix denotes the industrial temperature grade (-40 °C to +85 °C) and speed grade 8. The ES suffix indicates this is an enhanced-system revision with additional embedded memory.
The APEX 20KC architecture combines a four-input LUT logic element with a product-term distribution network, enabling efficient implementation of both fine-grained combinatorial logic and wide datapath functions. Embedded memory blocks (ESBs) provide dual-port RAM, ROM, and CAM functions, allowing designers to integrate FIFO buffers, register files, and content-addressable memories without consuming logic resources. The 301 MHz internal clock frequency supports high-speed pipelined datapaths for telecommunications and DSP applications.
Typical applications include telecommunications backplane interfacing, high-speed data-path bridging between legacy and modern bus standards, RAID controllers, and DSP co-processing in industrial automation equipment. With 508 user I/Os, the device can absorb multiple bridge, transcode, and glue-logic functions that previously required several discrete ASICs.
When designing with this part, note that it is now in legacy status: the APEX 20K family has been succeeded by Cyclone and Stratix families, so new designs should consult Intel's product longevity notice. Power estimation should use the PowerPlay Early Power Estimator and account for toggle rate, clock frequency, and I/O utilization to ensure the 1.8 V core rail stays within thermal limits.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from the APEX 20KC family, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K600CF672I8ES — 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 EP20K600CF672I8ES (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Operating Temperature, Device Type, Process Technology, Package, Package Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K600CF672I8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672I8AA
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$97.5 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672I7
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$220 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672C8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$322.4109 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672C8N
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$108 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672C9N
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$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K600CF672I8ES Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX 20KC |
| Logic Elements | 24,320 |
| Typical Gates | 600,000 |
| Maximum User I/O | 508 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 311,296 |
| Process Technology | 0.18 µm CMOS (0.15 µm base) |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.8 V |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 301.21 MHz |
| PLLs (Phase-Locked Loops) | 4 |
| Configuration Scheme | FPP / PS |
| Package | 672-ball FC-FBGA (FineLine) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +85 °C (Industrial, I-grade) |
| Speed Grade | 8 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Memory Type | SRAM-based (volatile, requires configuration) |
EP20K600CF672I8ES Pin Configuration
| Pin AF1 | I/O Bank 1 — User I/O pin (MultiVolt I/O) |
| Pin AF26 | I/O Bank 8 — User I/O pin (MultiVolt I/O) |
| Pin AE25 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (1.8 V) |
| Pin AB23 | VCCIO — I/O supply voltage (1.5/1.8/2.5/3.3 V) |
| Pin AC24 | GND — Ground |
| Pin C3 | TDI — JTAG Test Data In |
| Pin B2 | TDO — JTAG Test Data Out |
| Pin D5 | TCK — JTAG Test Clock |
| Pin C5 | TMS — JTAG Test Mode Select |
| Pin D6 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active low) |
| Pin E7 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active low) |
| Pin D7 | CONF_DONE — Configuration done indicator |
| Pin A1 | DATA0 — Configuration data input (FPP/PS mode) |
| Pin B1 | DCLK — Configuration clock |
Typical Applications
EP20K600CF672I8ES is suitable for 7 applications: Telecommunications Backplane Bridging, High-Speed Data Path Processing, RAID Storage Controller Logic, Industrial Automation and Control, Legacy Medical Imaging Equipment, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Aerospace and Defense Legacy Avionics.
Telecommunications Backplane Bridging
The EP20K600CF672I8ES fits telecom backplane bridging applications because its 508 user I/O pins can absorb multiple bus protocols (UTOPIA, POS-PHY, SPI-4.2, CSIX) on a single device, eliminating the need for discrete bridge ASICs. The 24,320 logic elements provide capacity to implement full bus converters plus protocol state machines, while the 311,296 bits of embedded SRAM support packet buffering and queue management. Operating from -40 °C to +85 °C industrial temperature range makes it suitable for central-office and outdoor-pedestal equipment. Designers typically instantiate dual-port RAM in the ESBs for inter-stage FIFOs and use the 4 PLLs to generate the multiple reference clocks required by SDH/SONET and Ethernet interfaces.
Recommended
High-Speed Data Path Processing
The EP20K600CF672I8ES supports high-speed datapath processing because its 301.21 MHz internal Fmax enables pipelined datapaths at OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) and below without difficulty. The combination of 24,320 LEs and 311 Kbit embedded SRAM allows integration of large multipliers, accumulators, and lookup tables for forward-error-correction (FEC), encryption, or DSP functions. The 1.8 V core voltage reduces power consumption versus older 2.5 V devices, which is critical for dense line-card designs. Engineers typically use the 4 PLLs to derive multiple phase-aligned clocks for parallel DSP slices, with the Quartus II fitter placing logic in dedicated DSP-friendly LABs.
Recommended
RAID Storage Controller Logic
The EP20K600CF672I8ES fits RAID controller designs because 508 I/O pins can simultaneously drive multiple SATA/SAS channels, DDR memory interfaces, and PCIe endpoint bridges, while 24,320 LEs implement parity engines, XOR calculators, and command-queue state machines. The embedded SRAM blocks (311 Kbit total) provide low-latency cache for stripe buffers and command tables, dramatically improving RAID-5/6 write performance. Industrial temperature grade (-40 °C to +85 °C) suits enterprise storage chassis. The configuration bitstream loads from a parallel flash in milliseconds, supporting fast RAID-rebuild scenarios after power-loss events.
Recommended
Industrial Automation and Control
The EP20K600CF672I8ES suits industrial automation because it integrates logic, memory, and 508 I/O on one device, replacing multiple CPLDs and discrete glue logic in PLC and motor-control applications. Industrial temperature grade (-40 °C to +85 °C) ensures reliable operation in factory-floor enclosures. Engineers use the 4 PLLs to generate multiple synchronized PWM clocks for multi-axis servo control, while the embedded SRAM stores position profiles and trajectory tables. The 1.8 V core voltage simplifies thermal design in sealed IP65-rated enclosures without active cooling.
Recommended
Legacy Medical Imaging Equipment
The EP20K600CF672I8ES continues to power installed-base medical imaging systems (ultrasound, MRI gradient control, CT reconstruction pre-processors) where its 508 I/Os handle multiple analog-front-end data streams and its embedded SRAM provides real-time line buffers. The deterministic 301 MHz operation supports fixed-latency image-pipeline processing, and the industrial temperature range accommodates equipment-room thermal envelopes. Hospitals typically require 15-20 year product support, so designers stocking replacement FPGAs rely on the last-time-buy inventory cycle to maintain service contracts through 2030+.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP20K600CF672I8ES fits high-end test instruments (logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, ATE) because its 508 I/Os can sample dozens of channels simultaneously while its 24,320 LEs implement protocol decoding and triggering state machines. Embedded SRAM acts as circular trace buffers, and 4 PLLs generate the multiple sample rates needed for parallel-bus capture. The industrial temperature grade suits laboratory and field-deployed test sets. Designers leverage the abundant I/O to integrate multiple instrument functions (logic analyzer + pattern generator + protocol exerciser) on a single FPGA, reducing instrument bill-of-materials cost.
Recommended
Aerospace and Defense Legacy Avionics
The EP20K600CF672I8ES supports legacy military and avionics upgrades where Mil-Std-1553, ARINC 429, and discrete avionics buses must be bridged to modern Ethernet or fiber backbones. Its 508 I/Os absorb dozens of legacy buses on one chip, while 311 Kbit embedded SRAM provides buffering for asynchronous message rates. Although not formally MIL-PRF-38535 qualified, the industrial temperature grade meets many deployed-platform thermal requirements, and DO-254 design-assurance documentation from prior programs remains reusable. Defense customers typically stockpile under long-term contracts to bridge obsolescence risk during platform service life.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K600CF672I8ES — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K600CF672I8 | EP20K600CF672I8AA | EP20K600CF672I7 | EP20K600CF672C8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| 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 |
| Logic Elements | 24,320 | 24,320 - same | 24,320 - same | 24,320 - same | 24,320 - same |
| Maximum User I/O | 508 | 508 - same | 508 - same | 508 - same | 508 - same |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 311,296 | 311,296 - same | 311,296 - same | 311,296 - same | 311,296 - same |
| Speed Grade | 8 | 8 - same | 8 - same | 7 (slower) | 8 - same |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40 °C to +85 °C) | Industrial - same | Industrial - same | Industrial - same | Commercial (0 °C to +85 °C) |
| Core Voltage | 1.8 V | 1.8 V - same | 1.8 V - same | 1.8 V - same | 1.8 V - same |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade with Enhanced System memory (vs EP20K600CF672I8)
- Higher speed grade than I7 variant (vs EP20K600CF672I7)
- Industrial temperature range vs commercial-only C8 grade (vs EP20K600CF672C8)
Design Notes
Estimated: at typical 60% toggle rate and 200 MHz operation, the 1.8 V core draws roughly 0.9-1.4 A depending on logic utilization. Provide at least 4-6 bulk decoupling capacitors (47 µF tantalum or polymer) on VCCINT, plus 0.1 µF and 0.01 µF ceramic caps every 5-8 balls. The 672-FBGA has dedicated GND balls in the center thermal array - connect all to a solid ground plane with multiple thermal vias for heat extraction. I/O banks can be powered independently (1.5/1.8/2.5/3.3 V), so group pins by interface voltage and place ferrite beads or filters if mixing analog and digital rails on the same board.
The 672-ball FineLine BGA uses 1.0 mm ball pitch - require at minimum 6-layer PCB with 0.5 oz copper outer layers and dedicated ground/power planes. Escape routing needs microvia technology (laser-drilled stacked vias) on standard 8-mil pitch; sub-6-layer designs cannot reliably escape all 508 I/O without dog-bone fanouts that violate signal-integrity. Match trace lengths within each I/O bank (within 50 mil for LVCMOS, 25 mil for LVDS) and use 50 Ω controlled impedance for clock and high-speed signals. Place a JTAG header near the device with all four JTAG signals plus TRST for boundary-scan programming.
Do not connect VCCIO of any bank to a voltage outside the supported 1.5 V / 1.8 V / 2.5 V / 3.3 V set, or the I/O buffers will latch up. Ensure nCONFIG is held low during power-up until all rails stabilize - failing to do so can leave the device in an undefined configuration state requiring power-cycle recovery. When migrating bitstreams between speed grades, the same Quartus II SOF file works on EP20K600CF672I7, I8, and I8ES because they share the same die, but timing analysis must be re-run to confirm critical-path margins. Finally, do not assume hot-swapping of I/O signals during configuration; the I/O pins tri-state but may glitch briefly.
Compliance Information
RoHS, lead-free, and halogen-free compliance status are not clearly documented in available web data; request manufacturer's Certificate of Conformity from Intel or authorized distributor. Part is not AEC-Q100 qualified (industrial FPGA, not automotive). APEX 20KC family was introduced in early 2000s, predating many current compliance mandates.
