EP2S60F484C4N - Stratix II FPGA 60K LE 484-FBGA | Intel (Altera)
MPN: EP2S60F484C4N β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1197.06 | $1,197.06 |
| 10 | $1145.5 | $11,455.00 |
| 100 | $1080 | $108,000.00 |
| 500 | $995 | $497,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $920 | $920,000.00 |
EP2S60F484C4N Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a reprogrammable semiconductor device containing an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs) interconnected by a programmable routing fabric. Within the broader hierarchy, an FPGA belongs to programmable logic devices (PLDs) -> logic ICs -> integrated circuits -> semiconductors. FPGAs bridge the gap between fixed-function ASICs and software-defined processing: unlike microcontrollers that execute sequential firmware, FPGAs implement true hardware parallelism, achieving deterministic latency and very high throughput for pipelined datapaths, signal processing, and protocol bridging. The Stratix II architecture specifically introduced an adaptive logic module (ALM) with 8 inputs and an 8-bit fracturable look-up table (LUT), giving it roughly 25% higher logic utilization than the prior Stratix generation.
Key differentiating features of the EP2S60F484C4N include a maximum internal clock frequency up to 711.24 MHz per the manufacturer datasheet, support for external memory interfaces up to DDR2/DDR SDRAM with dedicated PHY hardware, and a high-speed I/O fabric supporting LVDS, LVPECL, and SSTL signaling. The device also integrates phase-locked loops (PLLs) for clock management, with up to 12 PLLs available for clock multiplication, division, and phase shifting across multiple clock domains. The 484-FBGA package exposes 334 user I/O pins plus dedicated configuration, clock, and JTAG pins, enabling dense board-level integration without sacrificing signal integrity.
Typical applications include high-speed digital signal processing (radar, software-defined radio), 10 Gbps data aggregation and protocol bridging, ASIC prototyping and emulation, high-end imaging and video processing pipelines, and telecom line-card implementations. The wide logic capacity and embedded multiplier count make it particularly attractive for designs requiring parallel filter banks, FFTs, and convolutional processing.
When designing with the EP2S60F484C4N, engineers should plan thermal dissipation carefully: at full utilization the device can dissipate several watts through the FBGA substrate, requiring thermal vias and a multi-layer PCB stack-up to keep junction temperatures within the 0-85 C commercial range. Decoupling must follow Altera's recommended guidelines with multiple bulk and high-frequency capacitors placed directly under the BGA footprint.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing snapshots, pin-compatible Stratix II family drop-in alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet, giving procurement and design engineers a single-source decision view as of 2026-09-09.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2S60F484C4N 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 EP2S60F484C4N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Speed Grade, Operating Temperature, PLLs, Family.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2S60F484C4
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$974.13 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S60F484C3N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1245.75 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S60F484I4N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1195 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S30F484C4N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$480 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S30F484C4
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$124 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S30F484I4N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$305 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S60F484C4N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix II |
| Family | Stratix II FPGA |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 60,440 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALM) | 30,220 |
| Embedded Memory (Bits) | 2,544,192 |
| DSP Blocks (18x18 Multipliers) | 36 |
| Maximum User I/O | 334 |
| PLLs | Up to 12 |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Maximum Internal Clock Frequency | 711.24 MHz |
| Package | 484-Ball FBGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Commercial (C4) |
| Configuration Modes | Passive Serial, Fast Passive Parallel, JTAG |
EP2S60F484C4N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O / VCCIO β User I/O or I/O bank voltage (per bank pin map) |
| Pin B1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin C1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin D1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin E1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin F1 | VCCIO β I/O bank supply |
| Pin G1 | VCCINT β Core supply (1.2 V) |
| Pin H1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin J1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin K1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin L1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin M1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin N1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin P1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin R1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin T1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin U1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin V1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin W1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin Y1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin AA1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin AB1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin AC1 | I/O β User I/O |
| Pin AD1 | VCCIO β I/O bank supply |
| Pin AE1 | VCCINT β Core supply (1.2 V) |
| Pin AF1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin CONFIG_DONE | CONFIG_DONE β Configuration complete (dedicated pin) |
| Pin nSTATUS | nSTATUS β Configuration status (dedicated pin) |
| Pin nCONFIG | nCONFIG β Configuration control (dedicated pin) |
| Pin TCK | TCK β JTAG test clock (dedicated) |
Typical Applications
EP2S60F484C4N is suitable for 6 applications: High-Speed Digital Signal Processing, Telecom Line-Card and Protocol Bridging, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, High-End Video and Image Processing, Industrial Automation and Motor Control, Aerospace and Defense Signal Intelligence.
High-Speed Digital Signal Processing
The EP2S60F484C4N's 36 embedded 18x18 multipliers and 60,440 logic elements make it well suited for high-throughput DSP pipelines such as radar baseband processing, software-defined radio (SDR) channelization, and real-time FFT engines. Its parallel ALM architecture delivers deterministic, cycle-accurate latency across multiple parallel filter chains, outperforming sequential DSP microcontrollers at pipeline depths greater than 32 taps. A typical radar preprocessing chain (matched filter, MTI, pulse compression) fits comfortably within 40-50% of the device's logic, leaving headroom for control logic and memory buffers. Compared with a software DSP, the FPGA implementation can sustain 200-500 MSPS on a 1024-point FFT at 16-bit precision, while consuming less than 2 W additional power per channel.
Recommended
Telecom Line-Card and Protocol Bridging
With 334 user I/Os and LVDS/LVPECL/SSTL support, the EP2S60F484C4N is a strong fit for telecom line-card applications requiring multi-protocol bridging (SPI4.2, SFI-4.1, UTOPIA, POS-PHY) and 1-10 Gbps aggregation. The 2,544,192-bit embedded RAM buffers packet data without external SRAM, and the 12 PLLs derive independent clock domains for upstream serializer/deserializer (SERDES) reference clocks. A typical line-card design uses ~60% of the LE for packet classification and ~30% of the RAM for queue buffering, achieving line-rate throughput with sub-microsecond forwarding latency. The 484-FBGA exposes sufficient I/O for parallel LVDS interfaces to companion SERDES PHYs such as the TLK2711.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The 60,440 LE capacity and rich embedded memory make the EP2S60F484C4N a workhorse platform for ASIC and ASSP prototyping, where designers map multi-million-gate ASICs into Stratix II FPGAs with multi-FPGA partitioning. The 90 nm process preserves near-ASIC timing correlation for pre-silicon software development, hardware verification, and regression testing. A typical prototyping flow uses Quartus II 13.1 with Synplify Premier for synthesis and TimeQuest for static timing analysis. Each EP2S60F484C4N can absorb roughly 1.5-2 million ASIC gates when optimized for area; large ASICs are tiled across multiple FPGAs via dedicated high-speed tile-to-FPGAs LVDS channels. The 484-FBGA supports standard 0.8 mm pitch sockets for repeatable re-use.
Recommended
High-End Video and Image Processing
The EP2S60F484C4N's parallel processing capability and embedded RAM are well-matched to real-time video pipelines: HD-SDI ingest, color-space conversion, scaling, deinterlacing, and on-screen display overlay. The 36 DSP blocks deliver parallel FIR taps for spatial and temporal noise reduction, while the 2.5 Mbit embedded RAM holds multiple video frame lines for 2D filtering without external memory pressure. A typical HD (1920x1080@60 fps) video processing pipeline consumes ~40-60% of the LE, depending on algorithm complexity. The 334 I/Os support 16-32-bit parallel RGB/YCbCr buses plus serialized digital video (BT.1120, SDI) via external PHY.
Recommended
Industrial Automation and Motor Control
Industrial motor control and factory automation benefit from the EP2S60F484C4N's parallel computation of multi-axis servo loops, PWM generation, and quadrature encoder decoding. The 334 I/Os support multi-axis encoder interfaces (typically 4-8 axes per device) with sub-microsecond loop time, while the 36 DSP blocks accelerate field-oriented control (FOC) Park/Clarke transforms and SVPWM modulation. The embedded RAM buffers trajectory planning tables and PID state variables across multiple axes. With the EP2S60F484I4N industrial temperature variant, the device operates in -40 C to +100 C junction environments typical of factory floor enclosures.
Recommended
Aerospace and Defense Signal Intelligence
Aerospace and defense SIGINT/EW applications use the EP2S60F484C4N for wideband channelization, digital downconversion, and pulse deinterleaving where deterministic latency and high throughput are non-negotiable. The 711 MHz internal clock and parallel ALM fabric enable multi-GSPS equivalent processing when paired with external high-speed ADCs. The 334 I/Os support multiple LVDS ADC interfaces and DDR2 buffer memory. For flight-qualified applications, the I4 industrial or M5 military temperature grade variants are recommended, and design teams should evaluate the radiation-tolerant Microsemi/RTAX or Xilinx Virtex-5QV for true space-grade deployments.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2S60F484C4N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2S60F484C4 | EP2S60F484C3N | EP2S60F484I4N | EP2S30F484C4N | EP2S30F484C4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 484-FBGA | 484-FBGA (same) | 484-FBGA (same) | 484-FBGA (same) | 484-FBGA (same) | 484-FBGA (same) |
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 60,440 | 60,440 | 60,440 | 60,440 | 33,880 | 33,880 |
| Embedded Memory (Bits) | 2,544,192 | 2,544,192 | 2,544,192 | 2,544,192 | 1,369,728 | 1,369,728 |
| DSP Blocks (18x18) | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 18 | 18 |
| Maximum User I/O | 334 | 334 | 334 | 334 | 334 | 334 |
| Speed Grade | C4 (fastest) | C4 (fastest) | C3 (~15-25% slower) | I4 (industrial C4 equivalent) | C4 | C4 |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Commercial (0 C to +85 C) | Industrial (-40 C to +100 C) | Commercial | Commercial |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (N suffix) | No (no N suffix, non-RoHS) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N suffix) | No (no N suffix) |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Fastest C4 speed grade in the 484-FBGA Stratix II family (vs EP2S60F484C3N)
- 60K LE + 2.5 Mbit RAM + 36 DSP in a single 484-FBGA (vs EP2S30F484C4N)
- Commercial C4 temperature grade with full lead-free compliance (vs EP2S60F484C4 (non-N suffix))
Design Notes
The EP2S60F484C4N 484-FBGA package dissipates 3-6 W at typical utilization and 8-12 W at full DSP utilization, depending on toggle rate and junction temperature. The 90 nm Stratix II core generates a thermal gradient that must be conducted away through a multi-layer PCB stack-up with thermal vias directly beneath the central BGA ground balls. Use at least 4 PCB layers with a continuous inner ground/power plane and a thermal-via array of 0.3 mm pitch under the die. A heat spreader or heatsink is recommended for designs with sustained >70% utilization in still-air environments. Refer to Altera application note AN-358 for FBGA thermal layout guidelines.
Decouple the EP2S60F484C4N with bulk capacitors per the Stratix II pin connection guidelines: 100 uF tantalum or polymer per supply rail, 10 uF ceramic near each VCCIO/VCCINT pair, and 100 nF ceramic at every power/ground ball pair within 5 mm of the package. Power-up sequencing must drive VCCINT (1.2 V) before VCCIO (1.5-3.3 V) within 100 ms, otherwise the device may latch up or fail to configure. Use Altera's recommended power sequencer or a discrete RC delay on the enable pin of the VCCIO regulator.
Route all differential pairs (LVDS/LVPECL) with 100 ohm controlled-impedance traces within 1 mm length-matching tolerance, and keep SERDES reference clocks (if used externally) routed on inner stripline layers with continuous reference planes. The 334 user I/Os span 8 I/O banks; place 100 nF decoupling within 2 mm of every I/O bank supply ball. Use blind/buried micro-vias for BGA escape routing to free surface routing for signal traces; signal integrity simulations (HyperLynx or ADS) should be run on DDR2 interfaces before tape-out.
Common pitfalls when designing with the EP2S60F484C4N include: (1) ignoring the C3 vs C4 speed-grade performance delta - designs that close timing on C4 may fail on C3; (2) forgetting the MSEL[2:0] pin strap configuration for the chosen configuration mode (passive serial, FPP, JTAG); (3) leaving CONFIG_DONE floating - it must be pulled up to VCCIO with a 10 kohm resistor; (4) underestimating Quartus II compile time - large Stratix II designs may take 1-4 hours per compile iteration; (5) using a non-Altera-supported configuration device - only EPCS/EPCQ serial flash or compatible parallel flash is validated.
Compliance Information
The EP2S60F484C4N carries the N-suffix indicating lead-free ball finish per Intel/Altera ordering code conventions. RoHS, REACH, halogen-free, and conflict-mineral declarations are not available in the verified web data and should be requested from Intel. AEC-Q100 is not applicable for FPGAs (automotive qualification program targets standalone ICs, not complex programmable logic devices).
