EP2A40F672I9N - APEX II FPGA, 1.5M Gates, 672-FBGA | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP2A40F672I9N ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1850 | $1,850.00 |
| 10 | $1725 | $17,250.00 |
| 50 | $1600 | $80,000.00 |
| 100 | $1500 | $150,000.00 |
| 250 | $1395 | $348,750.00 |
EP2A40F672I9N Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor integrated circuit built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory blocks, and programmable I/O cells that the designer wires up after manufacture using an SRAM, antifuse, or flash configuration cell. The APEX II family sits within the broader taxonomy programmable logic device (PLD) -> CPLD/FPGA hybrid -> SRAM-based FPGA -> high-density FPGA, and combines LUT-based logic with dedicated MultiCore interconnect and True-LVDS support for high-speed parallel interfaces. Compared to a CPLD, an FPGA of this density is normally used for ASIC prototyping, complex datapath glue logic, and DSP-style arithmetic pipelines rather than simple decoder/decoder-replacement functions.
Key features of the EP2A40F672I9N include MultiCore architecture supporting both fine-grain and coarse-grain look-up tables, embedded system blocks (ESBs) that double as dual-port RAM, and a high-speed True-LVDS interface capable of 840 Mbps per channel. The device supports LVTTL, LVCMOS, PCI, GTL+, SSTL-2/3, HSTL, and differential LVDS/LVPECL I/O standards, and provides dedicated clock management blocks with PLL for frequency synthesis and phase shifting.
In terms of architecture, the APEX II device integrates Logic Array Blocks (LABs) containing 10 LEs each, interconnected via the MultiCore interconnect, and offers up to 1.6 Mbits of embedded SRAM. The 0.15 micrometer CMOS process gives the device its 1.5 V core operation, while the I/O banks can be driven from 1.5 V up to 3.3 V depending on the chosen standard. Configuration is supported via passive serial, passive parallel, JTAG, and Altera's EPC configuration devices.
Typical applications include ASIC prototyping, telecommunications line-card processing, high-speed image and video pipelines, test and measurement instrumentation, and PCI/PCI-X bus interface logic. Industrial and medical imaging systems frequently rely on the APEX II family because of the abundant dual-port memory and high I/O count. Military and aerospace customers adopt the I-temperature grade (suffix I9) for extended -40 C to +100 C operation.
When designing with this device, ensure the Quartus II design toolchain (or legacy MAX+PLUS II) is available, plan the I/O bank voltages carefully, and respect the 1.5 V core supply decoupling guidance. The 672-ball FC-FBGA package requires X-ray inspection and controlled reflow profiles; thermal management is normally handled by the PCB copper pad array under the package.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, pin-compatible APEX II drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2A40F672I9N — 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 EP2A40F672I9N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Process Technology, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, Package, System Gates.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2A40F672I9
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$165 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672I8N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$1145 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672I8
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$155 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$198 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672C9N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$295 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A25F672I9N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$215 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2A40F672I9N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX II |
| Technology | 0.15 um CMOS |
| Logic Elements | 38400 cells |
| System Gates | 1.5 M |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 366 MHz |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.5 V |
| User I/O Count | 492 |
| Package | 672-ball FC-FBGA |
| I/O Standards | LVTTL, LVCMOS, PCI, GTL+, SSTL-2/3, HSTL, LVDS, LVPECL |
| True-LVDS Data Rate | 840 Mbps per channel |
| Configuration Modes | Passive Serial, Passive Parallel, JTAG, EPC device |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial -40C to +100C (I9 suffix) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
EP2A40F672I9N 672-ball fc-fbga Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2A40F672I9N (672-ball 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 EP2A40F672I9N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2A40F672I9N is suitable for 6 applications: ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Telecommunications Line-Card Processing, High-Speed Image and Video Pipeline, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, PCI / PCI-X Bridge and Interface Logic, Industrial and Military Control Systems.
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP2A40F672I9N's 1.5M system gates and 38,400 logic cells make it well suited for ASIC prototyping and in-circuit emulation, allowing pre-silicon validation of complex SoC designs before tape-out. The 672-ball FC-FBGA footprint exposes 492 user I/Os, giving the device enough pins to map multi-bus ASIC peripherals at full speed. Designers can map gate-level netlists into the APEX II MultiCore interconnect using Quartus II and iterate RTL changes in hardware rather than waiting for ASIC respin. Compared to a structured ASIC, the EP2A40F672I9N trades unit-cost economics for design flexibility and one-day compile-and-run turnaround.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line-Card Processing
Telecommunications line cards benefit from the EP2A40F672I9N's True-LVDS interfaces at 840 Mbps per channel, which can backplane-serdes multichannel TDM streams between framer, mapper, and switch-fabric ASICs. The 366 MHz internal clock rate combined with abundant dual-port ESB RAM supports on-chip cell buffering at line rate. Multi-standard I/O support (LVTTL, LVCMOS, GTL+, SSTL-2/3, HSTL, LVDS, LVPECL) lets the device bridge legacy and modern ASIC voltages without external translators. Industrial temperature grading (-40 C to +100 C, I9N) is a hard requirement for outdoor telco cabinet deployments where ambient swings exceed commercial ranges.
Recommended
High-Speed Image and Video Pipeline
Imaging pipelines for machine vision, medical imaging, and broadcast video use the EP2A40F672I9N to perform real-time pixel processing such as color-space conversion, gamma correction, and Bayer demosaicing at pixel-clock rates up to 366 MHz. The 492 available user I/Os accommodate wide-parallel Camera Link, Channel Link, or DVI input buses without external bus expander logic. Embedded ESB dual-port RAM supports line-buffer and frame-store functions on-chip, removing external SRAM and shrinking the BOM. Compared to a discrete DSP, the APEX II gives the developer bit-level parallelism and pipelining flexibility for new imaging algorithms.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
Test and measurement equipment - logic analyzers, protocol testers, arbitrary waveform generators, and digitizers - leverage the EP2A40F672I9N to build flexible digital stimulus, capture, and post-processing paths. The 366 MHz logic and 1.5M-gate capacity fit multi-channel parallel sampling at hundreds of megasamples per second, and the 672-ball package exposes enough pins for simultaneous stimulus and capture buses. The device's True-LVDS channels carry serialized trigger and timestamp data between digitizer boards with minimal skew. Industrial temperature grade (I9N) supports bench and field-test deployments that span temperature extremes.
Recommended
PCI / PCI-X Bridge and Interface Logic
The EP2A40F672I9N supports PCI and PCI-X signalling standards natively, making it a strong fit for bridging legacy 32-bit or 64-bit PCI/PCI-X ASICs to modern processors or backplanes. With 492 user I/Os and 1.5M gates available, designers can implement a complete 64-bit/66 MHz PCI-X target plus side-band glue logic in a single device, eliminating a discrete bridge chip. The 672-ball FC-FBGA keeps the routing short enough to maintain PCI-X 66 MHz signal integrity on standard 4-layer boards. For new designs, expect PCI-X to be the practical ceiling because the APEX II family pre-dates PCIe.
Recommended
Industrial and Military Control Systems
The I9N temperature grade (-40 C to +100 C) of the EP2A40F672I9N suits industrial PLC, motor-control, and military command-and-control systems that must operate across extreme ambient ranges. Its abundant I/O count lets the device aggregate dozens of sensor inputs, encoder channels, and PWM outputs without external bus expanders. The 1.5V core and per-bank VCCIO allow the FPGA to interface directly to 3.3V ADC/DAC peripherals, 5V-tolerant opto-isolated I/O via external resistors, and LVDS encoder links for servo feedback. Industrial customers frequently pair the device with ruggedized FC-FBGA PCB stack-ups to meet shock and vibration requirements.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2A40F672I9N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2A40F672I9 | EP2A40F672I8N | EP2A40F672C9N | EP2A25F672I9N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| 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 Cells | 38400 | 38400 | 38400 | 38400 | 24000 (-37.5%) |
| System Gates | 1.5 M | 1.5 M | 1.5 M | 1.5 M | 1.0 M (-33%) |
| Maximum Internal Frequency | 366 MHz | 366 MHz | Slower (I8 grade) | 366 MHz | 366 MHz |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial -40C to +100C (I9N) | Commercial 0C to +85C | Industrial -40C to +100C (I8N) | Commercial 0C to +85C (C9N) | Industrial -40C to +100C |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-density APEX II device available (vs EP2A25F672I9N)
- Fastest speed grade I9N at this density (vs EP2A40F672I8N)
- Industrial temperature grade -40C to +100C (vs EP2A40F672C9N)
Design Notes
Estimated: At 1.5 V core with all 38400 logic cells switching at 366 MHz, the APEX II core current can approach 1.5 A; design the 1.5 V regulator with at least 3 A headroom and place low-ESR ceramic decoupling within 5 mm of every VCCINT ball pair. The 3.3 V VCCIO banks can each draw 500 mA to 1 A under LVDS switching load; use a star-ground scheme and 0.1 uF plus 10 uF bulk caps per bank.
The 672-ball FC-FBGA package has a 1.0 mm ball pitch and demands controlled-impedance stack-up design (50 ohm single-ended, 100 ohm differential for LVDS). Use a high-density interconnect (HDI) PCB with microvias-in-pad if signal escape routing on inner layers is required. Keep all eight-layer-plus stack-ups; do not attempt the APEX II 672-FBGA on 4-layer FR4 because via-in-pad stitching and reference planes are mandatory for SSN suppression.
Allocate dedicated ground and VCCINT/PWR power planes directly under the BGA footprint. Route all high-speed True-LVDS pairs as length-matched 100 ohm differential with 5 mil trace/space on a continuous reference plane. Place the EPC configuration memory (EPC16 or EPCS64) within 50 mm of the FPGA to keep JTAG and passive-parallel configuration timing clean.
Estimated: APEX II theta_JA is approximately 8 C/W with a 1 oz copper pad array directly under the FC-FBGA; at 2.25 W core dissipation, junction-to-ambient temperature rise is 18 C, well within the 100 C industrial ceiling. For enclosed industrial cabinets above 60 C ambient, add a heatsink or forced-air cooling to keep Tj below 125 C. Do not rely on the BGA alone to sink power in a sealed enclosure.
Avoid mixing 5 V and 1.5 V I/O standards on the same VCCIO bank because the APEX II I/O banks are not 5 V tolerant - over-voltage will damage the I/O cell. Do not omit the POR delay; the APEX II requires tPOR of approximately 100 ms before nCONFIG can be asserted. Configuration failures at first power-up are usually due to incorrect MSELn pin settings for the chosen configuration mode; double-check MSELn against Table 4 of the APEX II datasheet.
Compliance Information
Compliance status of the I9N suffix variant is not explicitly stated in the verified web data; APEX II family datasheet covers electrical characteristics only. The 'I9N' suffix typically indicates lead-free industrial temperature grade for legacy Altera parts, but RoHS/REACH confirmation must be requested from the franchised distributor.
