EP2SGX60CF780I5N - Stratix II GX FPGA 60K LE FC-FBGA-780 | Altera
MPN: EP2SGX60CF780I5N ⚠ Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1850 | $1,850.00 |
| 10 | $1750 | $17,500.00 |
| 100 | $1650 | $165,000.00 |
| 500 | $1500 | $750,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $1380 | $1,380,000.00 |
EP2SGX60CF780I5N Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory blocks, DSP blocks, and high-speed I/O that can be re-programmed to implement custom digital logic. FPGAs sit at the top of the programmable logic hierarchy (PAL -> CPLD -> FPGA) and are used when processors or ASICs cannot meet performance, latency, or parallelism requirements. The Stratix II GX family targets high-speed serial connectivity and signal-processing applications, placing this specific variant as a high-end member suitable for telecom backplanes, broadcast video, and high-end test equipment.
Key features of the EP2SGX60CF780I5N include 2,542 Kbits of embedded RAM distributed across TriMatrix memory blocks (M512, M4K, and M-RAM), 192 dedicated 18x18 multipliers for DSP operations, and a 1.2V core supply (1.15V to 1.25V operating range). It supports up to 12 full-duplex transceiver channels at data rates up to 3.125 Gbps, with some configurations reaching 6.375 Gbps depending on speed grade. The industrial temperature grade (-40C to +100C) and 90nm CMOS process technology make it suitable for demanding industrial and defense applications.
The architecture is based on Altera's adaptive logic module (ALM) fabric, which provides finer-grained lookup-table (LUT) packing than previous Stratix generations, increasing effective logic density by ~25%. The transceiver blocks include dedicated Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) and Physical Medium Attachment (PMA) hardware, supporting standards such as PCIe Gen1 (2.5 Gbps), XAUI (3.125 Gbps), and Serial RapidIO (1.25 to 3.125 Gbps). Programmable pre-emphasis and equalization compensate for channel loss on FR-4 backplanes up to 40 inches.
Typical applications include high-speed serial interface bridging, telecom line card prototyping, military signal processing, broadcast video routers, and high-performance computing (HPC) acceleration. The 780-ball FC-FBGA package (29 x 29 mm, 1 mm pitch) is designed for high-density PCB designs with controlled-impedance routing for the transceiver lanes, requiring dedicated ground and power planes plus matched-length differential pairs.
When designing with this device, allocate transceiver lanes first and route them on the top or bottom layers with continuous reference planes. Power supply decoupling requires at least 22 decoupling capacitors per power rail, plus bulk capacitors for the 1.2V core and PLL analog supplies. JTAG and configuration pins (MSEL[2:0], nCONFIG, nSTATUS, DONE) must be accessible for in-system programming.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternative Stratix II GX variants, and practical PCB design considerations not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone, giving procurement and engineering teams a single source for component evaluation.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2SGX60CF780I5N — 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 EP2SGX60CF780I5N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Speed Grade, DSP Blocks, Core Voltage, RoHS Status.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2SGX60CF780I4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$171 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780C5N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$485 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780C7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$215 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780C5
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$162 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$220 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780C4
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$171 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX60CF780I5N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Device Type | FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) |
| Family | Stratix II GX |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 60,440 |
| Adaptive Logic Modules (ALM) | 60,440 |
| Embedded Memory | 2,542 Kbits |
| DSP Blocks | 192 (18x18 multipliers) |
| Maximum Operating Frequency | 622.08 MHz |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V (1.15 V to 1.25 V) |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Transceiver Channels | Up to 12 (up to 6.375 Gbps) |
| Package Type | FC-FBGA-780 |
| Package Dimensions | 29 x 29 mm |
| Ball Pitch | 1.0 mm |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +100C (Industrial) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (Lead-Free) |
| Configuration Mode | JTAG, Passive Serial, Fast Passive Parallel |
EP2SGX60CF780I5N 29 x 29 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2SGX60CF780I5N (29 x 29 mm 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 EP2SGX60CF780I5N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2SGX60CF780I5N is suitable for 6 applications: High-Speed Serial Interface Bridging, Telecom Line Card Prototyping, Military Signal Processing, Broadcast Video Routing, High-Performance Computing Acceleration, Industrial Imaging and Machine Vision.
High-Speed Serial Interface Bridging
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is ideally suited for high-speed serial bridge applications with its 12 integrated transceiver channels supporting up to 6.375 Gbps. The Stratix II GX PMA/PCS hard IP blocks enable drop-in implementation of PCIe Gen1 (2.5 Gbps), XAUI (3.125 Gbps), Serial RapidIO (1.25-3.125 Gbps), and CEI-6G protocols without consuming FPGA fabric resources. In a typical bridging design, the device converts between a serial backplane (e.g., XAUI on 10 Gigabit Ethernet) and a parallel local bus (e.g., SPI-4.2 or SFI-4.1), offloading the protocol processing from an external ASIC. The 60,440 LEs provide ample headroom for user logic such as packet buffers, encryption, or error correction. Programmable pre-emphasis and adaptive equalization compensate for FR-4 channel loss up to 40 inches.
Recommended
Telecom Line Card Prototyping
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is widely deployed in telecom line card prototyping for SDH/SONET and OTN (Optical Transport Network) applications. Its 60,440 LEs support complex traffic management, framer/mapper logic, and forward error correction (FEC) algorithms such as Reed-Solomon and Turbo coding. The 192 dedicated 18x18 DSP multipliers enable high-throughput channel coding at 10G+ line rates. The 2,542 Kbits of embedded RAM using TriMatrix blocks (M512, M4K, M-RAM) provide packet buffering with deterministic latency. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +100C) supports central office and outside-plant deployments. Quartus II MegaCore IP libraries include ready-to-use framer, mapper, and FEC blocks that dramatically shorten development cycles.
Recommended
Military Signal Processing
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is suitable for military signal processing applications including radar, electronic warfare (EW), and software-defined radio (SDR). The combination of 60,440 LEs, 192 DSP blocks, and 12 transceiver channels supports multi-channel digital receiver designs with on-chip digital downconversion, pulse compression, and beamforming. The industrial temperature grade meets MIL-STD-810 shock and vibration requirements when paired with proper PCB stiffening. FPGA firmware can be updated in the field via JTAG, supporting software-defined mission profiles. The device is part of Altera/Intel's military product program with extended lifecycle support. Designers should use conformal coating and radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) considerations for high-altitude applications.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Routing
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is used in broadcast video routers and format converters supporting SDI (Serial Digital Interface) at 270 Mbps, HD-SDI at 1.485 Gbps, and 3G-SDI at 2.97 Gbps. The 12 integrated transceivers can handle multiple 3G-SDI streams simultaneously with on-chip clock recovery and descrambling. The 60,440 LEs provide logic for cross-point switching, color space conversion, and audio embedding/de-embedding. The 1.2V low-voltage operation reduces power consumption compared to older ASIC-based router designs, enabling higher-density matrix cards. Industrial temperature grade supports outdoor broadcast trucks and harsh venue environments. Quartus II supports SMPTE standards-compliant IP cores.
Recommended
High-Performance Computing Acceleration
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is used as an FPGA co-processor in high-performance computing (HPC) acceleration cards, providing hardware acceleration for genomics, financial analytics, and scientific computing workloads. The 192 DSP multipliers deliver ~38 GMACs of fixed-point arithmetic at full utilization, ideal for FFT, matrix multiplication, and cryptographic primitives. The transceiver channels enable high-bandwidth PCIe Gen1 x8 host interfaces at 20 Gbps aggregate. 60,440 LEs accommodate deep custom pipelines exceeding what CPUs can achieve at comparable power. Industrial temperature grade supports dense compute cluster deployments. The OpenCL and Altera SDK for OpenCL provide familiar C-based development flows for HPC users.
Recommended
Industrial Imaging and Machine Vision
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N is used in industrial imaging systems for high-speed camera interfaces, image preprocessing, and real-time machine vision algorithms. Its transceiver channels support CoaXPress (up to 6.25 Gbps per lane) and Camera Link HS interfaces for high-resolution line-scan cameras. The 60,440 LEs and 192 DSP blocks enable real-time Bayer demosaicing, color correction, defect pixel correction, and edge detection at rates exceeding 100 frames per second at 4K resolution. Industrial temperature grade (-40C to +100C) supports factory floor and outdoor machine vision deployments. The 2,542 Kbits embedded RAM acts as multi-line frame buffers between camera input and host output.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2SGX60CF780I5N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2SGX60CF780I4N | EP2SGX60CF780C5N | EP2SGX60CF780C7 | EP2SGX60CF780C5 | EP2SGX60CF780C4N | EP2SGX60CF780C4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Package | FC-FBGA-780 | FC-FBGA-780 - same | FC-FBGA-780 - same | FC-FBGA-780 - same | FC-FBGA-780 - same | FC-FBGA-780 - same | FC-FBGA-780 - same |
| Logic Elements | 60,440 | 60,440 (same die) | 60,440 (same die) | 60,440 (same die) | 60,440 (same die) | 60,440 (same die) | 60,440 (same die) |
| Speed Grade | I5 (industrial, fast) | I4 (industrial, slower) | C5 (commercial, fast) | C7 (commercial, fastest) | C5 (commercial, fast) | C4 (commercial, slower) | C4 (commercial, slower) |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40C to +100C) | Industrial (-40C to +100C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) | Commercial (0C to +85C) |
| Lead-Free (N suffix) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (no N suffix) | No (no N suffix) | Yes | No (no N suffix) |
| Transceiver Channels | 12 | 12 (same) | 12 (same) | 12 (same) | 12 (same) | 12 (same) | 12 (same) |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade with full speed grade I5 rating (vs EP2SGX60CF780C5N)
- Lead-free (RoHS) compliance with N suffix (vs EP2SGX60CF780C7)
- Faster speed grade I5 vs I4 for tighter timing budgets (vs EP2SGX60CF780I4N)
Design Notes
Estimated: the FC-FBGA-780 package requires a 12-layer PCB minimum with dedicated ground and 1.2V power planes. Transceiver channels demand tightly controlled 100-ohm differential impedance on the top or bottom layer, with via count minimized to avoid stubs. AC coupling capacitors (typically 100 nF X7R) are required on each transmit lane output and must be placed within 1 cm of the FPGA ball. Matched-length routing is mandatory for each transceiver pair, with 0.127 mm tolerance per pair to maintain eye-diagram compliance at 6.375 Gbps.
The EP2SGX60CF780I5N requires four supply rails: VCC (1.2V core, up to 3-5A under full utilization), VCCPD (3.3V I/O pre-driver), VCCIO (1.2V-3.3V bank I/O), and VCCA_PLL (1.2V analog PLL). Decoupling requires at least 22 ceramic capacitors per rail (mix of 100 nF and 4.7 uF), plus 220 uF bulk capacitance within 2 cm of the package. Power-on sequencing must follow VCCIO/VCCPD before VCC or risk latch-up; reference the Stratix II GX handbook for the recommended sequence. Use a dedicated power supervisor IC such as the LTC2923 to enforce sequencing.
Estimated: transceiver channel pre-emphasis must be tuned per board layout using Quartus II Transceiver Toolkit. Typical pre-emphasis settings of 6-9 dB at 6.375 Gbps compensate for FR-4 loss. Receiver equalization must be enabled for channels exceeding 10 inches of trace length. Use Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) measurements or HyperLynx simulations to verify impedance continuity at via transitions, especially BGA breakout vias. Reference clocks must be routed with controlled 50-ohm impedance and isolated from noisy signals; jitter must be below 80 fs RMS for 6.375 Gbps operation.
Estimated: under full logic utilization with all 12 transceivers active, the EP2SGX60CF780I5N can dissipate 8-12W. The FC-FBGA-780 package has no integrated heat slug; thermal management relies on PCB copper spreading with at least 25 cm² of top-layer copper plus a thermal via array under the die. For applications exceeding 10W, attach a heatsink with thermal interface material rated for -40C to +125C operation. Junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (theta_JA) on a 12-layer JEDEC test board is approximately 15 C/W.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel product declaration; N suffix confirms lead-free ball finish. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - this is a commercial/industrial FPGA, not an automotive-grade device.
