EP2A40F672I-8 - APEX II FPGA 1.5M Gates | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP2A40F672I-8 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185 | $185.00 |
| 10 | $168.5 | $1,685.00 |
| 100 | $152 | $15,200.00 |
| 500 | $138 | $69,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $125 | $125,000.00 |
EP2A40F672I-8 Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor integrated circuit composed of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnects, and dedicated I/O cells that an engineer can re-program after manufacturing to implement custom digital logic. APEX II sits within the programmable logic device hierarchy as: FPGA → SRAM-based programmable logic → fine-grained LUT architecture → multi-rail multi-voltage I/O support. FPGAs of this density class are typically used in place of ASICs when time-to-market, in-field reprogrammability, or low-to-mid volume production economics are prioritized.
Key features of the EP2A40F672I-8 include 1.5M typical gates, 38,400 logic cells, dedicated on-chip memory, embedded multiplier blocks, and support for multiple I/O standards including LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and HSTL on a per-pin basis. The device integrates a flexible MultiVolt I/O architecture that allows the inputs and outputs to operate at different voltages than the core. According to the Altera APEX II datasheet, internal signal performance supports up to approximately 376 MHz operation.
The architecture uses a four-level hierarchy (LUTs, MegaLAB structures, Embedded System Blocks, and FastTrack interconnect) to deliver predictable timing closure across complex designs. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package supports high pin-count, low-inductance interconnects required for high-speed parallel buses and source-synchronous memory interfaces such as DDR.
Typical applications include high-speed communications infrastructure, telecom switching fabrics, ASIC prototyping, image and video processing pipelines, military and aerospace digital signal processing, and industrial control systems. The industrial temperature grade makes it suitable for environments that exceed commercial-grade thermal limits.
When designing with this part, note that it is now a mature, legacy device that has been superseded by newer Cyclone and Stratix families; supply is constrained to authorized distributors and the broker market. PCB designers must allocate adequate power planes for the 1.5 V core, PLL analog supplies, and reference voltage rails, and must respect the FC-FBGA escape and routing rules for signal-integrity-compliant DDR layouts.
This page consolidates broker pricing, same-family drop-in alternatives drawn from the Site MPN list, lifecycle caveats, and practical layout notes that are not visible on a single manufacturer product page.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2A40F672I-8 — 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 EP2A40F672I-8 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, Package, Process Technology, Embedded Memory.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2A40F672I-7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$285 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C9N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$295 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C9
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$62 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C9ES
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$122 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$68 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672I-8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX II |
| Series | APEX II (EP2A) |
| Typical Gates | 1.5 M |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 38,400 |
| Process Technology | 0.15 µm |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 376 MHz |
| Package | 672-pin FC-FBGA |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +100 °C (Industrial) |
| Speed Grade | -8 |
| Peak Reflow Temperature | 220 °C |
| Moisture Sensitivity Level (MSL) | 3 |
| Memory Type | SRAM-based configuration |
| I/O Standard Support | LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, HSTL |
EP2A40F672I-8 672-pin fc-fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2A40F672I-8 (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 EP2A40F672I-8.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2A40F672I-8 is suitable for 6 applications: Telecom Switching Fabric, ASIC Prototyping, Image and Video Processing Pipeline, Military and Aerospace Digital Signal Processing, Industrial Control and Automation, High-Speed Parallel Bus Interface Bridge.
Telecom Switching Fabric
The EP2A40F672I-8 is well suited to telecom backplane switching fabrics where its 1.5 M gates, 38,400 logic elements, and 672-ball FC-FBGA package provide sufficient logic density for ATM/SONET protocol engines. The 376 MHz internal frequency, combined with LVDS/LVCMOS I/O support, enables high-speed serial-parallel multiplexing. The industrial temperature grade ensures reliable operation in central-office equipment that must survive 0 °C to 70 °C uncontrolled airflow environments. Designers can partition switching paths across the four-level APEX II hierarchy (LE → MegaLAB → ESB → FastTrack) to achieve predictable timing closure for 100+ MHz datapaths.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
Engineers prototyping ASIC designs in the early 2000s routinely targeted the APEX II EP2A40F672I-8 because of its 1.5 M gate capacity and 672-ball FC-FBGA package, which mirrors many cell-based ASIC footprints. The device supports multiple I/O standards (LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, HSTL, LVDS) on a per-pin basis, allowing direct emulation of mixed-voltage ASIC I/O. The 0.15 µm SRAM-based fabric is in-system reprogrammable, so RTL changes can be iterated in minutes rather than weeks. Industrial temperature screening allows the same prototype platform to be deployed in field trials before the final ASIC spin.
Recommended
Image and Video Processing Pipeline
Image and video processing applications leverage the EP2A40F672I-8's 38,400 logic elements to implement parallel pixel pipelines at rates up to 376 MHz internal fabric speed. The device's embedded system blocks (ESBs) deliver dedicated dual-port RAM for line buffers and lookup tables, while the embedded multiplier blocks accelerate FIR filters and DCT/IDCT transforms required by JPEG and MPEG codecs. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package provides low-inductance power delivery to support high toggle rates without IR-drop issues. Industrial temperature rating enables deployment in outdoor surveillance and machine-vision enclosures.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Digital Signal Processing
The industrial -40 °C to +100 °C temperature grade of the EP2A40F672I-8 makes it a candidate for ruggedized military DSP systems, provided the program can accept commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts. The 1.5 M gate capacity supports multi-channel radar signal processing, electronic-warfare digital receivers, and secure communications encryption engines. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package has been used extensively in flight-qualified hardware by Altera's aerospace customers. For full MIL-PRF screening, designers should request industrial-temperature-tested date codes or up-screen parts from the broker market.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Automation
Industrial control applications such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motion controllers, and factory-automation gateways benefit from the EP2A40F672I-8's wide I/O standard support and industrial temperature rating. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package allows the device to interface directly to DDR memory, multi-port Ethernet MACs, and parallel ADC/DAC converters. Real-time control loops can be implemented in hardware state machines for deterministic microsecond response. The combination of SRAM-based reprogrammability and 1.5 M gate density supports field upgrades without production-line interruptions.
Recommended
High-Speed Parallel Bus Interface Bridge
The EP2A40F672I-8 is well matched to bridge applications between legacy parallel buses (PCI, VME, proprietary) and modern serial fabrics. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package provides ample I/O for 32-bit or 64-bit bus capture while internal logic implements bus arbitration, DMA engines, and protocol translation. The 376 MHz internal frequency plus HSTL/SSTL I/O support enables capture of source-synchronous buses running at 133-200 MHz DDR. Industrial temperature rating ensures deployment in outdoor or uncontrolled-cabinet installations such as base-station baseband processing.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2A40F672I-8 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2A40F672I-7 | EP2A40F672C9N | EP2A40F672C9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Package | 672-pin FC-FBGA | 672-pin FC-FBGA (same) | 672-pin FC-FBGA (same) | 672-pin FC-FBGA (same) |
| Typical Gates | 1.5 M | 1.5 M (same) | 1.5 M (same) | 1.5 M (same) |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 38,400 | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) | 38,400 (same) |
| Speed Grade | -8 | -7 (faster) | -9 (slower) | -9 (slower) |
| Operating Temperature Range | -40 °C to +100 °C (Industrial) | -40 °C to +100 °C (Industrial, same) | 0 °C to +85 °C (Commercial) | 0 °C to +85 °C (Commercial) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) | 1.5 V (same) |
| Process Technology | 0.15 µm | 0.15 µm (same) | 0.15 µm (same) | 0.15 µm (same) |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete (2026-09-08) | Obsolete (same) | Obsolete (same) | Obsolete (same) |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature rating (vs EP2A40F672C9)
- Slightly faster than -9 speed grade (vs EP2A40F672C9N)
- APEX II architectural balance (vs EP20K600CF672)
Design Notes
The 672-ball FC-FBGA package requires controlled-impedance escape routing on high-density interconnect (HDI) PCB stack-ups, typically 6-8 layers with microvia-in-pad construction. Maintain 50 Ω single-ended and 100 Ω differential trace impedances for LVDS pairs. Fanout from the BGA ball field using dog-bone or via-in-pad patterns; preserve unbroken reference planes under the entire BGA escape region to avoid impedance discontinuities and signal-integrity violations.
Estimate: with VCCINT at 1.5 V and VCCIO rails at 1.5 V/1.8 V/2.5 V/3.3 V depending on bank, total quiescent current for the EP2A40F672I-8 can reach several hundred mA in fully utilized designs. Use a star-distributed power plane layout with bulk decoupling at the PCB entry point, plus 0.1 µF + 10 µF + 47 µF ceramic/polymer decoupling clusters within 5 mm of every power pin. Place PLL VCC_PLL analog supply ferrite-bead-isolated from VCCINT to meet Altera's PLL jitter specification.
MSL 3 floor-life is 168 hours after dry-pack opening - exceeding this requires a 125 °C bake-out for at least 24 hours before reflow to prevent package popcorn and die-crack failures. Confirm whether the date code is Pb-free (peak reflow 260 °C) or SnPb (peak reflow 220 °C) before setting the production reflow profile. Mixing temperature profiles can cause non-wets and head-in-pillow defects.
Configure unused I/O pins in the Quartus II software as 'Input Tri-Stated with weak pull-up' or 'Output driving ground' - never leave them floating. Use the Altera Pin Planner to assign I/O standards per bank before place-and-route, and verify VCCIO matches the I/O standard voltage (1.5 V LVCMOS, 1.8 V LVCMOS, 2.5 V LVCMOS, 3.3 V LVTTL, SSTL_2, SSTL_18, HSTL_I). Mixing incompatible standards in a single bank will cause latch-up and damage.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free status were not present in the verified web data for the EP2A40F672I-8 as of 2026-09-08. Original APEX II devices from the early 2000s were typically non-RoHS SnPb; later date codes may be RoHS-compliant. AEC-Q100 is not applicable since this is an FPGA, not a discrete automotive-grade IC. Confirm compliance status with the broker before placing orders for European or Asia-RoHS-restricted end products.
