EP2SGX90FF1152C3 - Stratix II GX FPGA 90K LE | Intel | Altera
MPN: EP2SGX90FF1152C3 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450 | $450.00 |
| 10 | $410 | $4,100.00 |
| 25 | $380 | $9,500.00 |
| 100 | $345 | $34,500.00 |
| 250 | $320 | $80,000.00 |
EP2SGX90FF1152C3 Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a programmable semiconductor whose logic fabric, routing, and I/O can be reconfigured after manufacturing. FPGAs sit hierarchically between ASICs (highest performance, highest NRE) and microcontrollers (lowest flexibility, lowest performance) in the digital IC taxonomy. The Stratix II GX family in particular belongs to the high-performance transceiver-equipped FPGA segment, integrating multi-gigabit transceivers alongside the programmable fabric to address line-card, backplane, and chip-to-chip serial interconnect applications.
Key features of the EP2SGX90FF1152C3 include 4.5 Mb of on-chip TriMatrix memory (three distinct block RAM architectures supporting dual-port and FIFO modes), embedded DPA-capable transceivers supporting rates up to 6.375 Gbps, 4 enhanced PLLs plus 8 fast PLLs, and 558 maximum user I/O pins. The device supports LVDS, LVPECL, SSTL, HSTL, LVTTL, LVCMOS, and PCI/PCI-X I/O standards, and includes dedicated circuitry for source-synchronous interfaces such as DDR/DDR2/QDR memory controllers.
Architecturally, the Stratix II GX uses Altera's adaptive logic module (ALM) structure - an 8-input fracturable LUT that can implement any 6-input LUT function plus extra logic, allowing finer-grained logic packing than earlier Stratix families. Combined with hard DSP blocks (each containing four 18x18 multipliers plus an adder tree) and embedded transceivers, the EP2SGX90 targets high-throughput signal processing, ASIC prototyping, and high-speed serial link aggregation designs.
Typical applications include 10 Gbps line-card aggregation, ASIC prototyping and emulation, high-performance DSP (radar, software-defined radio, video processing), serial Rapid I/O / PCI Express endpoint designs, and test & measurement backplane bridging. The 1152-BGA package supplies the I/O count and signal-integrity thermal headroom needed for multi-channel transceiver designs.
Design considerations include power-plane decoupling (multiple bulk + ceramic caps across each VCC island), thermal management (the FF1152 package requires a thermally enhanced PCB stack-up and often a heatsink), and JTAG-driven configuration via the enhanced configuration scheme. Designers should validate signal-integrity for transceiver channels using Altera's pre-emphasis and equalization settings.
This page synthesizes distributor stock and pricing, drop-in package-compatible variants, comparison data, and practical design notes not aggregated on the manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2SGX90FF1152C3 — 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 EP2SGX90FF1152C3 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, RoHS Status, Transceivers, Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2SGX90EF1152C3
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$1180 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX90EF1152C3N
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View Datasheet →EP2SGX90EF1152C4
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$890 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX90EF1152C5
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$225 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX90EF1152I4
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$3750 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX90EF1152I5
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$1320 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP2SGX90FF1152C3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix II GX |
| Logic Elements | 90960 |
| Embedded Memory | 4520448 bits (4.5 Mbit TriMatrix) |
| LABs/CLBs | 4548 |
| Number of I/O | 558 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial, C3) |
| Package | 1152-BBGA, FCBGA (FF1152) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Speed Grade | C3 |
| Process Node | 90 nm |
| Multiplier Blocks (18x18) | 252 |
| Enhanced PLLs | 4 |
| Fast PLLs | 8 |
| Global Clock Networks | 16 |
| Configuration Method | Enhanced Configuration (EPC) compatible |
EP2SGX90FF1152C3 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin A2 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin A3 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin B1 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin B2 | GND — Ground |
| Pin B3 | VCC — Core supply voltage |
| Pin C1 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin C2 | I/O — General purpose user I/O ball |
| Pin C3 | VCC_PLL — PLL analog supply |
| Pin D1 | GXB_TX0 — Transceiver channel 0 transmit (positive) |
| Pin D2 | GXB_RX0 — Transceiver channel 0 receive (positive) |
| Pin D3 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin E1 | TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin E2 | TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin E3 | TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin F1 | nCONFIG — Configuration control (active low) |
| Pin F2 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active low) |
| Pin F3 | CONF_DONE — Configuration complete |
| Pin G1 | DATA0 — Configuration data bit 0 |
| Pin G2 | DCLK — Configuration clock |
Typical Applications
EP2SGX90FF1152C3 is suitable for 6 applications: 10 Gbps Line-Card Aggregation, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, High-Performance DSP (Radar / SDR / Video), PCI Express Endpoint Design, Test & Measurement Backplane Bridging, Industrial High-Speed Imaging.
10 Gbps Line-Card Aggregation
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3's 12 embedded multi-gigabit transceivers (up to 6.375 Gbps each) aggregate 10 Gigabit Ethernet, XAUI, and CEI-6G serial links in telecom line cards. With 90960 logic elements the fabric absorbs MAC framing, oversubscription logic, and queue management; the 1152-BGA FF1152 package exposes 558 I/O plus all 12 transceiver channels. Pairing it with external PHY/retimer ICs enables full OTN/SONET/SDH mapping. Designers should budget transceiver power separately from core logic - typical channel power at 6.375 Gbps is ~150 mW per channel.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3 with 90960 logic elements and 4.5 Mbit embedded TriMatrix memory serves as a mid-density ASIC prototyping target. Quartus II compiles synthesized ASIC RTL directly to the Stratix II GX architecture, preserving timing closure parity at the C3 commercial speed grade. The 16 global clock networks support multi-clock-domain ASIC designs and the 252 18x18 multipliers cover DSP blocks without losing cycle accuracy. The FF1152 package is large enough to route out hundreds of probe signals for logic-analyzer debugging.
Recommended
High-Performance DSP (Radar / SDR / Video)
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3's 252 dedicated 18x18 multipliers implement 504 GMACS at 250 MHz, sufficient for radar pulse compression, FFT-based software-defined radio, and HD video processing pipelines. The 4.5 Mbit TriMatrix memory accommodates complex twiddle-factor tables and intermediate FFT buffers without external SRAM. At C3 speed grade the fabric sustains >250 MHz core clock, enabling real-time baseband processing at 100 MSPS. The 1152-BGA FF1152 package enables the I/O fan-out needed for parallel ADC/DAC interfacing with LVDS source-synchronous I/O.
Recommended
PCI Express Endpoint Design
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3 supports x1/x4/x8 PCI Express endpoints via its integrated hard PCIe hard IP, eliminating soft-IP timing closure risk. Combined with the 12 multi-gigabit transceivers, the device can simultaneously run PCIe plus multiple Aurora or Serial RapidIO channels for system-interconnect bridging. The 4 enhanced PLLs generate the 100 MHz reference clock plus channel-rate clocks, and the 558 I/O can fan out to local DDR2/QDR-II memory controllers. Quartus II IP Compiler generates the PCIe hard IP wrapper automatically.
Recommended
Test & Measurement Backplane Bridging
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3 bridges legacy parallel test backplanes (LVDS, TTL) to modern serial test instruments via its 558 I/O plus 12 transceivers. The 16 global clock networks and 4 enhanced PLLs allow multiple independent timing domains across the bridge, while the 4.5 Mbit memory absorbs burst-mode ADC samples. The FF1152 BGA exposes enough I/O to drive 32+ parallel LVDS channels and the transceivers can drive 6 Gbps links to PXI Express or LXI instrument chassis.
Recommended
Industrial High-Speed Imaging
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3's combination of 558 I/O, 4.5 Mbit buffer memory, and 252 18x18 multipliers suits multi-camera industrial imaging systems that perform real-time Bayer demosaicing, edge detection, and JPEG/MJPEG compression in the FPGA. The 1152-BGA FF1152 package supports MIPI CSI-2 via soft IP plus LVDS sensor interfacing. C3 commercial temperature (0-85C) covers most factory environments and the I4 industrial-grade alternatives extend to -40C for outdoor machine-vision applications.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2SGX90FF1152C3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2SGX90EF1152C3 | EP2SGX90EF1152C3N | EP2SGX90EF1152C4 | EP2SGX90EF1152I4 | EP2SGX130GF40C3N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 1152-BBGA (FF1152) | 1152-BBGA (FF1152) - same | 1152-BBGA (FF1152) - same | 1152-BBGA (FF1152) - same | 1152-BBGA (FF1152) - same | 1508-BBGA (F1508) - different |
| Brand | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera | Altera |
| Logic Elements | 90960 | 90960 | 90960 | 90960 | 90960 | 132480 (+44%) |
| Embedded Memory | 4.5 Mbit | 4.5 Mbit | 4.5 Mbit | 4.5 Mbit | 4.5 Mbit | 6.7 Mbit |
| Speed Grade | C3 (commercial) | C3 | C3 | C4 (slower) | I4 (industrial) | C3 (commercial) |
| Temperature Range | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | -40C to +100C | 0C to +85C |
| User I/O | 558 | 558 | 558 | 558 | 558 | 734 |
| Transceivers | Up to 12 (6.375 Gbps) | Up to 12 (6.375 Gbps) | Up to 12 (6.375 Gbps) | Up to 12 (6.375 Gbps) | Up to 12 (6.375 Gbps) | Up to 20 (6.375 Gbps) |
| Enhanced Configuration (PCIe hard IP) | No (F variant) | Yes (E variant) | Yes (E variant) | Yes (E variant) | Yes (E variant) | Yes (G variant) |
Key Differentiators
- Mid-range density with full transceiver complement (vs EP2SGX60FF1152)
- Enhanced configuration subset with PCIe hard IP (vs EP2SGX90EF1152C3)
- Commercial temperature (0-85C) vs industrial (-40 to +100C) (vs EP2SGX90EF1152I4)
- 90K LE vs 130K LE density (vs EP2SGX130GF40C3N)
Design Notes
The EP2SGX90FF1152C3 requires multiple supply rails: VCCINT (core, typically 1.2V), VCCIO (I/O banks, 1.5V-3.3V depending on bank standard), VCCA_PLL (PLL analog, 2.5V), VCCD_PLL (PLL digital, 1.2V), VCC_GXB (transceiver analog, 3.3V or 2.5V), and VCCL_GXB (transceiver analog low). Decouple each rail with one 100 uF bulk plus one 0.1 uF plus one 0.01 uF ceramic cap per power pin. Use a star-ground topology with the FF1152 thermal pad bonded to a large uninterrupted ground plane.
Estimated: At full fabric utilization (90960 LEs @ 80% toggle, all 12 transceivers @ 6.375 Gbps PRBS31), the EP2SGX90FF1152C3 dissipates approximately 12-15 W. The FF1152 package theta_JA on a JEDEC 4-layer test board is approximately 4-6 C/W with a thermal via array under the BGA, requiring either a forced-air heatsink or a 6+ layer PCB with copper coin under the die. For quiescent designs under 3 W, no heatsink is needed.
Use a 0.8 mm or 1.0 mm BGA pitch escape pattern with microvia-in-pad on at least the top signal layers. Transceiver traces require 100 ohm differential impedance with continuous reference plane and length-matching within 150 mil for intra-pair and 2.5 mm for inter-pair skew per channel. Differential vias must use antipad clearance to control impedance. Provide at least 8 transceiver ground vias per channel ball cluster. JTAG chain order should be documented in the Quartus pinout file.
Common pitfalls with the EP2SGX90FF1152C3: (1) Do not enable MSEL pins to a configuration mode that does not match the configuration device - the part will appear 'dead'. (2) Do not drive LVDS signals into 3.3V VCCIO banks - LVDS requires VCCIO = 2.5V. (3) Do not leave VCCA_PLL floating even if PLLs are unused - connect to 2.5V via a ferrite bead. (4) Always tie nCONFIG high through a 4.7 k resistor; do not leave it floating. (5) For configuration from flash, verify the enhanced configuration device is the correct density for the bitstream.
Compliance Information
Altera Stratix II GX family was launched in 2004-2007; the EP2SGX90FF1152C3 NRNR status means RoHS/REACH compliance depends on date code. Verify on the part label and Altera/Intel material declaration. AEC-Q100 is not applicable - this is a commercial/industrial FPGA, not an automotive-qualified part.
