EP2S15F672C4 - Stratix II FPGA, 15K LEs, 672-BGA | Intel / Altera
MPN: EP2S15F672C4 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $382.72 | $382.72 |
| 10 | $365 | $3,650.00 |
| 100 | $320 | $32,000.00 |
| 500 | $275 | $137,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $235 | $235,000.00 |
EP2S15F672C4 Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a type of integrated circuit that contains an array of programmable logic blocks, configurable interconnects, and dedicated I/O pads. Designers can configure these resources after manufacturing to implement custom digital functions, ranging from simple glue logic to complex System-on-Chip (SoC) designs. FPGAs sit at the top of the programmable logic hierarchy and are widely used for parallel processing, hardware acceleration, and prototyping before ASIC tape-out. Within the Stratix II family, the EP2S15 sits at the lower end of the density range, offering a balance of logic capacity, memory, and DSP blocks for mid-complexity designs.
Key features of the EP2S15F672C4 include 15,600 logic elements (LEs), 419,328 bits of embedded RAM (organized into TriMatrix memory blocks), up to 156 DSP blocks (for fixed- and floating-point signal processing), and 6 PLLs for clock management. The device supports multiple I/O standards including LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and HSTL, with the FineLine BGA package enabling high pin count and signal density on multilayer PCBs.
The Stratix II architecture uses adaptive logic modules (ALMs) that pack 8 inputs into each module, providing higher effective logic utilization than the 4-input LUT structure used in the original Stratix family. Combined with dedicated routing, on-chip memory, and DSP blocks, this architecture delivers high performance at clock rates suitable for parallel DSP pipelines and high-throughput data-path designs.
Typical applications of the EP2S15F672C4 include communications infrastructure (protocol bridging, SERDES aggregation), test and measurement instrumentation, industrial motor control, video processing, and high-performance ASIC prototyping. Designers can implement PCI Express, Gigabit Ethernet, DDR memory controllers, and custom DSP pipelines using the embedded transceivers, multipliers, and I/O resources.
When designing with this device, attention must be paid to BGA fan-out and routing density, as well as power plane design for the multiple internal voltage rails (core, I/O, PLL auxiliary). The 672-ball FineLine BGA package requires multi-layer PCB fabrication with via-in-pad or dog-bone fanout patterns to escape all signals without requiring additional PCB area.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in Stratix II family alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2S15F672C4 — 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 EP2S15F672C4 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, Total RAM Bits, Operating Temperature, RoHS Status.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2S15F672C3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$142.3 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2S15F672C3N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$142.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2S30F672C5
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$155 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2S60F672C5
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$410.85 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2C50F672C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$148.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2S15F672C4 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix II |
| Logic Elements | 15,600 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 419,328 bits |
| DSP Blocks | 156 (approximate, per Stratix II family) |
| Maximum User I/Os | 366 |
| Package | 672-ball FineLine BGA (FBGA) |
| Process Node | 90 nm |
| PLLs | 6 |
| Operating Temperature | Commercial (0C to +85C, 'C' suffix) |
| Speed Grade | 4 |
| Configuration Method | Serial / Parallel (passive serial, fast passive parallel, JTAG) |
| I/O Standards Supported | LVTTL, LVCMOS, LVDS, SSTL, HSTL (per Stratix II family) |
EP2S15F672C4 672-ball fineline bga (fbga) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2S15F672C4 (672-ball fineline bga (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 EP2S15F672C4.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2S15F672C4 is suitable for 7 applications: Telecommunications Protocol Bridging, Digital Signal Processing Pipelines, Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing and Display Controllers, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, High-Speed Memory Interface Controllers.
Telecommunications Protocol Bridging
The EP2S15F672C4 is well suited to telecom protocol bridging designs that need to interwork between TDM, Ethernet, and serial RapidIO interfaces. Its 15,600 logic elements, on-chip TriMatrix memory, and 6 PLLs provide sufficient fabric to implement channelized framers, deframers, and clock-domain crossing logic. The 366 user I/Os allow direct connectivity to multiple SFP ports and backplane transceivers without external bus multiplexers. Compared to a CPU-based approach, the FPGA achieves deterministic line-rate throughput at sub-microsecond latency, which is critical for VoIP gateways and base-station backhaul aggregators.
Recommended
Digital Signal Processing Pipelines
The EP2S15F672C4 hosts up to 156 dedicated DSP blocks that implement 18x18 multipliers with optional accumulators and adders, making it a strong fit for FIR filters, modulators, and FFT pipelines. Designers can chain multiple DSP blocks at high clock rates to achieve hundreds of MSPS of throughput for radar and software-defined radio applications. The 419,328 bits of embedded memory provide coefficient storage and sample buffering right at the data-path, eliminating external memory round-trips. Quartus II DSP Builder or HDL-coded FIR cores map directly to the hardware, allowing early-area and Fmax estimation before tape-out.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control
The EP2S15F672C4 supports industrial motor-control applications including vector control, field-oriented control (FOC), and PWM generation for AC drives. With 366 user I/Os, the FPGA can interface directly to multi-axis encoder inputs, gate-driver enable lines, and current-sense ADCs without external glue logic. The 6 PLLs provide precise clock synthesis for synchronized PWM switching at tens of kilohertz with deterministic dead-time insertion. The 672-ball FineLine BGA package withstands the thermal and vibration environment of an industrial cabinet when paired with adequate PCB cooling.
Recommended
Video Processing and Display Controllers
The EP2S15F672C4 enables mid-resolution video processing pipelines including scaling, color-space conversion, and overlay composition. Its 419K bits of embedded RAM serve as line buffers and frame-buffer slices for HD-rate streaming. The high I/O count supports parallel RGB, BT.656, and HDMI bridge implementations with low-latency pixel-domain processing. Compared to ASIC implementations, the FPGA enables rapid specification iteration for emerging display standards and custom resolutions.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP2S15F672C4 is widely used in test and measurement instruments such as protocol analyzers, arbitrary waveform generators, and logic analyzers. Its combination of logic fabric, dedicated DSP, and flexible I/O supports pattern generation, error injection, and signal conditioning in a single chip. The 6 PLLs provide sub-nanosecond-skew clock trees critical for parallel bus capture at multi-hundred-megahertz rates. The NRND lifecycle status means engineers should plan migration to Stratix IV/V for new designs, but stock remains available for maintenance of existing instruments.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP2S15F672C4 is used as an ASIC prototyping vehicle to validate RTL designs before committing to mask sets. Designers partition an ASIC target across multiple FPGAs using time-domain multiplexing or pin-multiplexing flows, with the 672-ball BGA providing the high I/O density required for chip-level interconnect. Quartus II supports incremental compilation and LogicLock regions to stabilize timing across multiple FPGA iterations. For lower-density prototyping, the smaller-package EP2C8 series provides a cost-effective companion FPGA on the same prototyping board.
Recommended
High-Speed Memory Interface Controllers
The EP2S15F672C4 supports high-bandwidth external memory interfaces including DDR, DDR2, and QDR SRAM controllers implemented in user logic. The 419K bits of on-chip RAM act as read/write buffers, while the dedicated PLLs feed precise phase-shifted clocks to the memory interface. The 366 user I/Os include enough pins for a 64-bit-wide data bus plus address and control signals in the 672-ball FineLine BGA. Compared to a soft-core CPU implementation, an FPGA-based memory controller achieves lower latency and deterministic access times for data-acquisition front-ends.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2S15F672C4 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2S15F672C3 | EP2S15F672C3N | EP2S30F672C5 | EP2S60F672C5 | EP2C50F672C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 672-ball FineLine BGA | 672-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 672-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 672-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 672-ball FineLine BGA (same) | 672-ball FineLine BGA (same) |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Logic Elements | 15,600 | 15,600 | 15,600 | 33,880 | 60,440 | 50,560 (Cyclone II) |
| Speed Grade | 4 | 3 (faster) | 3 (faster) | 5 (slower) | 5 (slower) | 8 (slower) |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 419,328 | 419,328 | 419,328 | 1,369,728 | 2,544,192 | 594,432 (Cyclone II M4K) |
| Family | Stratix II | Stratix II | Stratix II | Stratix II | Stratix II | Cyclone II |
| Process Node | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm | 90 nm |
Key Differentiators
- Speed grade 4 offers cost optimization over speed grade 3 (vs EP2S15F672C3)
- Stratix II DSP and memory density for signal-processing heavy designs (vs EP2C50F672C8N)
- Higher logic density in the same package (vs EP2S30F672C5)
Design Notes
The 672-ball FineLine BGA requires via-in-pad or dog-bone fan-out escape patterns to route signals out of the inner rows without requiring additional PCB area. Plan at least 8 PCB layers (4 signal, 2 ground, 2 power) to escape the dense BGA pattern and maintain 50 ohm controlled-impedance traces for high-speed I/O. A 1.0 mm pitch BGA demands precision PCB fabrication (8-mil trace/space or better).
Estimated: At full utilization of 15,600 LEs at 350 MHz and I/O toggling at 100 MHz, the EP2S15F672C4 may dissipate 3-5 W of dynamic power. With theta_JA values typical of a 27x27 mm FineLine BGA (~15-20 C/W), junction-to-ambient rise is approximately 75C. Mount the BGA on at least 1 square inch of unbroken inner copper plane tied to GND, and consider a thermal via array under the exposed die pad.
Do not assume the EP2S15F672C4 datasheet pinout matches the EP2C50F672 in the same package - despite the same 672-ball BGA footprint, ball assignments for PLL supply, configuration pins, and JTAG differ between Stratix II and Cyclone II families. Verify every I/O assignment in Quartus II Pin Planner before PCB fabrication. Also note that the 'C4' speed grade designation requires careful timing closure analysis for designs targeting Fmax above 300 MHz.
The Stratix II family requires multiple supply rails (core VCCINT, I/O VCCIO, PLL VCC_PLL, auxiliary VCCAUX). Each PLL block typically draws 50-100 mA and must be isolated with a ferrite bead and 0.1 uF / 10 uF decoupling pair within 100 mils of the supply pin. Use a power-sequencing controller or carefully designed RC network to ensure VCCINT rises monotonically before VCCIO to avoid latch-up during hot-plug events.
Compliance Information
RoHS / REACH / lead-free status not explicitly confirmed in the provided distributor data for EP2S15F672C4. The 'N' suffix in the EP2S15F672C3N variant typically denotes a lead-free / RoHS-compliant version per Altera naming conventions, but explicit confirmation requires the manufacturer product page or datasheet.
