EP2S180F1508C4N - Stratix II 180K LEs FPGA | Intel/Altera
MPN: EP2S180F1508C4N β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1107.68 | $1,107.68 |
| 10 | $1054.94 | $10,549.40 |
| 100 | $1004.7 | $100,470.00 |
| 1,000 | $985 | $985,000.00 |
| 10,000 | $985 | $9,850,000.00 |
EP2S180F1508C4N Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device containing an array of programmable logic blocks, interconnect, and I/O cells that can be electrically configured to implement virtually any digital circuit after manufacturing. FPGAs sit within the broader hierarchy of programmable logic devices (PLDs) -> programmable logic -> digital ICs -> integrated circuits. Stratix II represents Altera's second-generation high-performance FPGA family, succeeding Stratix with significant architectural improvements in logic density, on-chip memory, and DSP capability.
Key differentiating specifications include 9.38 Mbits of total RAM distributed across TriMatrix memory blocks, support for up to 96 DSP blocks with dedicated multipliers, support for external memory interfaces including DDR/DDR2/QDRII/QDRII+/RLDRAM, and 12 global clock networks with 16 PLLs. The 1508-BBGA (FC-FBGA) flip-chip BGA provides high I/O density of 1170 pins on a 40 mm Γ 40 mm body, suitable for high-bandwidth parallel interfaces and pin-intensive protocol bridging designs.
The device implements an architecture based on Altera's adaptive logic modules (ALMs), each ALM contains an 8-input fracturable look-up table (LUT), two dedicated adders, and registers that can be split into smaller functions, delivering a claimed 2x performance density improvement versus the original Stratix family. Configuration is typically stored in a serial configuration device and loaded at power-up via active serial (AS), passive serial (PS), or JTAG modes.
Typical applications include high-speed digital signal processing, ASIC prototyping, telecommunications infrastructure line cards, video broadcast and image processing, high-end test and measurement equipment, and military/aerospace systems. The 1508-ball FC-BGA package and high I/O count make it suitable for designs that previously would have required an ASIC.
When designing with this FPGA, ensure the PCB supports high-speed signal integrity with controlled-impedance routing, matched-length pairs for DDR interfaces, and a sufficient number of power and ground pins to deliver the 1.15β1.25 V core and 3.3 V/2.5 V I/O rails. Note that the Stratix II family has been superseded by Stratix III, IV, and V series; new designs should evaluate current Intel/Altera Cyclone or Stratix 10 families for cost and longevity reasons.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in compatible Stratix II alternatives with identical 1508-FBGA footprints, and practical design notes that are not consolidated in any single source including the manufacturer datasheet, distributor listings, or parametric search engines.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2S180F1508C4N β 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 EP2S180F1508C4N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Speed Grade, Process Technology, Family, Logic Elements.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2S180F1508C3N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1200 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S180F1508C5N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$5050 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S180F1508C4
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet βEP2S180F1508C3
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet βEP2S130F1508C4N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$4435.83 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S180F1508C4N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix II |
| Logic Elements | 179,400 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 71,760 (9,570 LABs) |
| Total RAM Bits | 9,383,040 |
| User I/Os | 1170 |
| Supply Voltage (Core) | 1.15 V to 1.25 V |
| Process Technology | 90 nm |
| Package | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA (40 mm Γ 40 mm) |
| Number of Pins/Balls | 1508 |
| Supplier Device Package | 1508-FBGA |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Commercial (C) |
| Speed Grade | 4 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Configuration Mode | Serial (AS), Passive Serial (PS), JTAG |
EP2S180F1508C4N Pin Configuration
| Pin AF1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AF2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AF3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AE1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AE2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AE3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AD1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AD2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AD3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AC1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AC2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AC3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AB1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AB2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AB3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AA1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AA2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin AA3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin Y1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin Y2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin Y3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin W1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin W2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin W3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin V1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin V2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin V3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin U1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin U2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
| Pin U3 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (specific function per Quartus II pinout file) |
Typical Applications
EP2S180F1508C4N is suitable for 6 applications: ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Telecom Line Cards and Baseband Processing, High-End Video and Image Processing, Test and Measurement Equipment, Military and Aerospace Mission Computing, High-Performance Computing Acceleration.
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP2S180F1508C4N's 179,400 logic elements and 9.38 Mbits of TriMatrix embedded RAM make it a proven platform for ASIC prototyping and logic emulation, where it can hold multi-million-gate ASIC designs partitioned across multiple Stratix II devices. With 1,170 user I/Os, the 1508-FBGA package supports wide parallel bus prototyping (32/64/128-bit) and high pin-count ASIC pads. Designers using the Quartus II RTL capture flow can run real-time system verification at FPGA-grade clock speeds, validating firmware-software integration before committing to silicon. Compared to ASIC tape-out, this drastically reduces risk and time-to-market.
Recommended
Telecom Line Cards and Baseband Processing
The EP2S180F1508C4N is widely deployed in telecom line cards for high-speed serial protocol bridging, baseband signal processing, and packet classification. Its 1,170 I/Os support multiple SFI/XFI/Utopia-style interfaces, and the on-chip DSP blocks accelerate FFT, Viterbi, and Turbo decoding at line-rate speeds. The 90 nm process and 711 MHz core frequency enable 3.125 Gbps LVDS and SERDES-based backplane operation without external PHY chips in many reference designs. This makes it suitable for SONET/SDH framer, OTN mapper, and 10G Ethernet MAC functions in legacy telecom infrastructure still in service.
Recommended
High-End Video and Image Processing
The EP2S180F1508C4N's 9.38 Mbits of on-chip memory combined with 96 DSP blocks are well-matched for real-time HD/4K video pipelines, including motion estimation, deinterlacing, scaling, and color-space conversion. The 1,170 user I/Os can drive multiple parallel camera/display interfaces (BT.656, BT.1120, Camera Link) directly. Designers commonly use the TriMatrix memory blocks as line/frame buffers, eliminating external SRAM and reducing board area and BOM cost. The Stratix II fabric also supports DDR/DDR2/QDRII external memory for larger reference frames in broadcast and machine-vision applications.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Equipment
The EP2S180F1508C4N serves as the digital back-end in oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and bit-error-rate testers where real-time pattern generation and acquisition at multi-gigabit rates are required. Its 1,170 I/Os accommodate wide parallel data acquisition buses and trigger trees, while the 9.38 Mbits of embedded RAM function as deep capture buffers. The Stratix II LVDS capability (up to 1 Gbps per pair) lets designers build per-channel serializers/deserializers without external SerDes ICs. Industrial-grade reliability, deterministic timing closure with Quartus II, and long-term availability through Rochester Electronics make it viable for production-grade test equipment still in service today.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Mission Computing
The EP2S180F1508C4N's high logic density and reconfigurability suit avionics mission computers, radar signal pre-processing, electronic warfare subsystems, and ruggedized MIL-STD-1553/ARINC interfaces in fielded defense platforms. Designers use the 1508-FBGA package for high-throughput sensor-fusion data paths (radar, EO/IR, SIGINT) and leverage the DSP blocks for pulse-Doppler processing. Aerospace-grade variants are available as EP2S180F1508I4N (industrial temperature, speed grade 4) which is the ruggedized cousin of the commercial EP2S180F1508C4N. Note that military/aerospace programs must check the latest DSCC/VID and ITAR-controlled export status before procurement.
Recommended
High-Performance Computing Acceleration
The EP2S180F1508C4N is used as a coprocessor/accelerator in HPC and scientific computing for FPGA-based compute kernels, custom floating-point pipelines, and memory-bandwidth-bound workloads. The 9.38 Mbits of on-chip memory and the 1,170 user I/Os let designers attach multiple DDR2/QDRII memory banks, achieving aggregate memory bandwidth suitable for FFT, encryption (AES/SHA), compression, and bioinformatics kernels. Power-constrained designs must account for the 90 nm process consuming approximately 30-40 W at full utilization, often requiring a heat sink or forced airflow above 70 Β°C ambient. Quartus II DSP Builder and OpenCL tools enable software-engineer productivity for HPC kernels.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2S180F1508C4N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2S180F1508C3N | EP2S180F1508C5N | EP2S180F1508C4 | EP2S180F1508C3 | EP2S130F1508C4N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA (40x40 mm) | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA - same | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA - same | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA - same | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA - same | 1508-BBGA, FC-FBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 179,400 | 179,400 | 179,400 | 179,400 | 179,400 | 132,540 (lower density EP2S130) |
| Total RAM Bits | 9,383,040 | 9,383,040 | 9,383,040 | 9,383,040 | 9,383,040 | 6,747,840 |
| User I/Os | 1170 | 1170 | 1170 | 1170 | 1170 | 1126 (lower-density variant) |
| Speed Grade | 4 | 3 (faster) | 5 (slower) | 4 | 3 (faster) | 4 |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | No (Pb-bearing legacy) | No (Pb-bearing legacy) | Yes (N suffix) |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Commercial (C) | Commercial (C) | Commercial (C) | Commercial (C) | Commercial (C) | Commercial (C) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-density Stratix II device in a single 1508-FBGA package (vs EP2S130F1508C4N)
- Speed-grade 4 offers balanced fMAX vs cost trade-off (vs EP2S180F1508C3N)
- Lead-free (RoHS) by default (vs EP2S180F1508C4)
Design Notes
Estimated: at full utilization (180K LEs, 1170 I/Os toggling at 200 MHz) the Stratix II EP2S180 consumes roughly 30-40 W from the 1.15β1.25 V core rail and additional 5-10 W from the I/O and auxiliary rails. Design the PCB with at least 6-8 power and ground plane layers, route a minimum of 20 dedicated VCCINT balls to a low-impedance 1.2 V plane via parallel decoupling (10 Β΅F bulk + 0.1 Β΅F/100 nF high-frequency per cluster of 4-6 balls). Use a buck regulator with Β±3% load tolerance and verify thermal rise on the 40 mm Γ 40 mm FC-BGA package with a ΞΈJA β 12 Β°C/W (still-air) to keep junction below 85 Β°C at ambient 70 Β°C.
The 1508-FBGA package uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch on a 40Γ40 mm body β PCB must use HDI (laser-drilled microvia) stack-up with at least a 6-4-6 layer count. Route matched-length differential pairs for LVDS (max skew 20 ps within a byte lane) and length-matched DDR2 byte lanes (max Β±25 ps). Use a Buried Capacitance or thin-core stack-up to minimize supply noise; place 0402 0.1 Β΅F X7R decoupling within 2 mm of every VCCIO/VCCINT ball. Reference the Stratix II Device Handbook Chapter 7 'PCB Design Guidelines' for the official checklist before tape-out.
For multi-gigabit LVDS or DDR2/QDRII interfaces, use IBIS-AMI simulations in HyperLynx or SiSoft QCD for the Stratix II IOE drivers. Enable OCT (on-chip termination) to absorb reflections on controlled-impedance traces (50 Ξ© single-ended, 100 Ξ© differential). For SERDES rates above 1 Gbps, source the parallel data and clock with matched-length routing on an inner stripline layer; verify eye margins > 200 mV (height) and > 0.6 UI (width) post-simulation. Avoid 90Β° bends in high-speed traces; use 45Β° bends with mitered corners.
Common pitfalls when designing with EP2S180F1508C4N: (1) assuming a faster speed-grade is a drop-in replacement without re-running Quartus II timing analysis β C3/C4/C5 grades have different fMAX, so place-and-route must be re-verified; (2) omitting the MSEL[2:0] configuration-mode strapping resistors and ending up unable to configure from a serial EPCS device; (3) leaving nCONFIG, nSTATUS, or CONF_DONE floating β they must be pulled per the Stratix II Configuration Handbook; (4) designing I/O voltages above 3.3 V on banks not powered from 3.3 V VCCIO, causing IOREF misconfiguration; (5) failing to properly decouple the PLL analog supply (VCC_PLL) leading to PLL jitter or unlock.
The EP2S180F1508C4N commercial-grade device is rated 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C junction. Estimated: at 30 W core dissipation and ΞΈJA = 12 Β°C/W (still air, JEDEC 4-layer test board), the junction rises 360 Β°C above ambient β clearly exceeding the package capability. Add a heatsink (e.g., a 10 mm tall pin-fin aluminum heat sink with thermal interface material), increase airflow to 1-2 m/s, and/or upgrade to the industrial-grade EP2S180F1508I4N (operating -40 Β°C to 100 Β°C) if your application demands it. Do not rely solely on the package's exposed thermal pad; verify thermal modeling with a 3D CFD or measured thermocouples before finalizing the design.
Compliance Information
Lead-free / RoHS compliance inferred from the -N suffix per Altera/Intel part numbering convention. Halogen-free and conflict-minerals declarations are not stated in the verified distributor snippets; mark as 'unknown' per data authenticity rules.
