EP2A40F672C9ES - APEX II FPGA 1.5M Gates 672-FBGA | Altera
MPN: EP2A40F672C9ES ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $285 | $285.00 |
| 10 | $265.5 | $2,655.00 |
| 100 | $240 | $24,000.00 |
| 500 | $218 | $109,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $195 | $195,000.00 |
EP2A40F672C9ES Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device built from an array of programmable logic blocks, interconnect, and I/O cells that designers can configure after manufacturing to implement custom digital functions. Within the wider hierarchy, an FPGA is a type of Programmable Logic Device (PLD), which itself falls under digital logic integrated circuits. The APEX II architecture extends this concept with embedded MultiCore interconnect and embedded system blocks (ESBs) that double as RAM, ROM, or CAM memory, making the device suitable for high-density data-path, telecommunications, and DSP-intensive applications.
Key features of the EP2A40F672C9ES include 492 user I/O pins supporting multiple I/O standards (LVTTL, LVCMOS, PCI, SSTL, HSTL, GTL+), 1.5 M system gates, 38,400 logic cells, dedicated multiplier/clock circuitry, and JTAG-based IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan support. The device supports in-system programmability via the passive serial (PS), passive parallel synchronous (PPS), passive parallel asynchronous (PPA), JTAG, and Altera Fast Passive Parallel (FPP) configuration modes through a serial configuration device such as the EPC2 or EPC8.
From an architectural standpoint, the APEX II family combines Look-Up Table (LUT) logic with embedded array blocks, giving designers a flexible trade-off between fine-grained logic and block-level memory. The MultiCore interconnect uses continuous, predictable routing across rows, columns, and embedded blocks, which simplifies timing closure on dense 672-pin designs. The 1.5 V core voltage reduces power consumption versus older 2.5 V families such as APEX 20K, while the -9 speed grade places this part at the high-performance end of the family.
Typical applications include high-speed telecommunication backplanes, ATM packet processing, SONET/SDH framer designs, custom DSP pipelines, and PCI bus interfaces. The 672-pin FC-FBGA package provides high signal density for board-constrained designs where 492 I/O channels must be routed out of a single chip.
When designing with this device, note that the APEX II family has been classified as legacy/not recommended for new designs. Engineers should verify long-term supply availability with the manufacturer before committing to a new production program, and consider Cyclone III/IV/10 or newer families for greenfield designs while keeping the APEX II for legacy upgrades.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2A40F672C9ES — 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 EP2A40F672C9ES (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Package, Speed Grade, Operating Temperature, Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2A40F672C9
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$62 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C8N
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$122 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C8
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$68 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C7N
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$198 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C7
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$195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C6N
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$165 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$105 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C9ES Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX II |
| Logic Elements | 38,400 |
| System Gates | 1,500,000 |
| Maximum User I/O | 492 |
| Operating Frequency (max) | 366 MHz |
| Process Technology | 0.15 µm CMOS |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Package | 672-pin FC-FBGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Speed Grade | -9 |
| Configuration Modes | PS, PPS, PPA, JTAG, FPP |
| Embedded Memory (ESB) | Yes (RAM/ROM/CAM) |
| I/O Standards | LVTTL, LVCMOS, PCI, SSTL, HSTL, GTL+ |
| Boundary Scan | IEEE 1149.1 (JTAG) |
| RoHS Status | unknown |
EP2A40F672C9ES 672-pin fc-fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2A40F672C9ES (672-pin fc-fbga 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 EP2A40F672C9ES.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2A40F672C9ES is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Backplane Interface, DSP Co-Processor Pipeline, SONET/SDH Framer, Custom PCI Interface Bridge, High-Speed Data Acquisition Back-End, Legacy ASIC Replacement.
Telecom Backplane Interface
The EP2A40F672C9ES fits telecom backplane interface cards because it combines 492 user I/O with 1.5 M system gates and 366 MHz internal Fmax, enabling multi-channel UTOPIA/POS-PHY Level 3 or SPI-4.2 interfaces on a single device. The 672-FBGA package supports dense SERDES companion routing for backplane connectors, and the embedded system blocks (ESBs) provide the per-channel FIFOs that queue ATM cells, HDLC frames, or MPLS labels. Compared with a discrete ASIC, the APEX II family lets the designer iterate on framing, encapsulation, and queuing algorithms without re-spinning silicon, which is critical during multi-vendor interoperability testing.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processor Pipeline
The EP2A40F672C9ES is well suited as a DSP co-processor that offloads filtering, FFT, or modulation from a host processor. With 38,400 logic elements, the device can host 16-32 parallel multiply-accumulate engines plus the supporting coefficient RAM in ESB blocks, reaching 366 MHz and yielding billions of MAC operations per second. The MultiCore interconnect gives predictable timing closure for pipelined datapaths, so designers can scale the FFT size by adding more stages without re-routing congestion. The 1.5 V core reduces dynamic power, which matters when the device is sitting on a PCI/CompactPCI card next to a host CPU.
Recommended
SONET/SDH Framer
The EP2A40F672C9ES serves as a custom SONET/SDH framer where ASIC lead-time is unacceptable. The 1.5 M system gates are sufficient to implement STS-1/STM-0 framing, pointer justification, scrambling, and BIP-8 error monitoring in a single chip, while the 492 I/O route the parallel payload bus to an external mapper and the overhead serial interface to a network processor. The ESB blocks hold pointer interpreter tables and APS byte history without consuming LUT logic, freeing logic elements for the framing state machine. Its 1.5 V operation keeps the device within the thermal budget of the 672-FBGA even at sustained telecom workloads.
Recommended
Custom PCI Interface Bridge
The EP2A40F672C9ES functions as a custom PCI 32/64-bit bridge between a host CPU and proprietary I/O subsystems. The APEX II family supports 3.3 V PCI signaling with the I/O banks configured for PCI compliance, and the 672-FBGA package exposes the full 492 user I/O needed to fan the bus out to multiple downstream peripherals. The device's 38,400 logic elements can implement scatter-gather DMA engines, target/initiator state machines, and custom interrupt controllers. PCI-X and basic CompactPCI interfaces are also reachable because the embedded MultiCore routing scales predictably with the wider 64-bit datapath.
Recommended
High-Speed Data Acquisition Back-End
The EP2A40F672C9ES acts as the back-end processing stage in a high-speed data acquisition card, sitting between an ADC front-end and a host CPU over PCI/CompactPCI. The 492 I/O accommodate parallel LVDS pairs from the ADC, and the 1.5 M system gates run real-time decimation, FIR filtering, and trigger logic. ESBs hold circular sample buffers with up to 2,048 bits each, cascadable into deeper FIFOs without consuming core logic. Compared with a microcontroller, the APEX II keeps the entire processing pipeline in deterministic hardware, which is required for time-critical instrument designs.
Recommended
Legacy ASIC Replacement
The EP2A40F672C9ES is the classic choice for replacing an obsolete ASIC in legacy equipment where the customer cannot re-spin the silicon or re-design the board. The 672-FBGA footprint matches the original ASIC land pattern, so the existing PCB can be reworked with BGA re-balling service. Designers port the ASIC RTL to APEX II using the Quartus II design suite, leveraging the 1.5 M gates to absorb the original logic and any feature additions. This is a common pattern for industrial controller, military radio, and aerospace electronics where a 10-year supply window is required.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2A40F672C9ES — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2A40F672C9 | EP2A40F672C8N | EP2A40F672C8 | EP2A40F672C7N | EP2A40F672C7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 672-FBGA | 672-FBGA - same | 672-FBGA - same | 672-FBGA - same | 672-FBGA - same | 672-FBGA - same |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Speed Grade | -9 | -9 (same) | -8 (slower) | -8 (slower) | -7 (slower) | -7 (slower) |
| System Gates | 1,500,000 | 1,500,000 (same) | 1,500,000 (same) | 1,500,000 (same) | 1,500,000 (same) | 1,500,000 (same) |
| Logic Elements | 38,400 | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) |
| Max User I/O | 492 | 492 (same) | 492 (same) | 492 (same) | 492 (same) | 492 (same) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) |
| Lifecycle Status | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND | NRND |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade in the APEX II 672-FBGA family (vs EP2A40F672C7N)
- Maximum user I/O density in the APEX II family (vs EP2A25F672C9ES)
- Largest configuration memory target (vs EP2A40F672C6)
Design Notes
The 672-FBGA fine-pitch BGA requires 4-6 layer PCB stack-up with controlled-impedance routing for LVTTL/LVCMOS/PCI I/O. Decoupling: place 0.1 µF X7R ceramic bypass capacitors on every VCCINT and VCCIO pin pair within 200 mils of the package, plus bulk 10-100 µF tantalum capacitors on each power rail. Ground planes must be continuous under the BGA with stitched vias on a 50-100 mil pitch for thermal relief. Estimated: thermal resistance θJA of a 672-FBGA on a JEDEC 4-layer test board is roughly 12-15 °C/W with sufficient copper; verify with board-level thermal simulation before high-utilization designs.
Estimate: at full toggle activity the EP2A40F672C9ES can draw 1.5-2.5 A from VCCINT at 1.5 V plus another 0.5-1 A across all I/O banks. Use a low-dropout regulator with at least 3 A headroom and add a power-good supervisor to hold the device in reset until all rails reach regulation. Sequence VCCINT before VCCIO if mixing 2.5 V and 3.3 V I/O banks, otherwise the I/O buffers may drive into the unpowered core through ESD diodes. Tie unused I/O to GND through 10 kΩ resistors or set them to input-tri-state in the Quartus pin planner to minimize in-rush current.
JTAG chain integrity: route TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO through a single daisy-chained connector with 33 Ω series termination near the driver and 10 kΩ pull-ups on TMS and TDI. Maintain maximum 6-inch trace length from the download cable header to the EP2A40F672C9ES TDO pin. For multi-device JTAG chains, observe the BSDL file ordering from the Quartus II programmer. Configuration mode pins (MSEL[2:0], nCONFIG, nSTATUS, CONF_DONE) require external 10 kΩ pull-up to VCCIO_PGM and must not be left floating during power-up; misconfiguration of these pins is the most common cause of failed board bring-up.
Common pitfalls: (1) confusing the EP2A40F672 family with the EP20K400 series - they have different die, different package, and different configuration bitstreams. (2) Using EPC1 configuration devices which are too small for the 1.5 M gate bitstream - use EPC2, EPC8, or EPC16 instead. (3) Assuming the APEX II supports 5 V I/O - it does not; all I/O are 3.3 V max with 5 V tolerant input option only on selected banks. (4) NRND supply means counterfeits appear on the broker market - insist on X-ray inspection of BGA solder balls and provenance documentation for high-reliability programs.
Compliance Information
Compliance data not present in the Verified Web Data; contact Altera/Intel directly for current RoHS/REACH certificates. AEC-Q100 not applicable to FPGAs in this lifecycle stage.
