EP2SGX90FF1508I3 - 90K LEs, 6.375G Transceiver FPGA | Altera
MPN: EP2SGX90FF1508I3 β Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1850 | $1,850.00 |
| 10 | $1620 | $16,200.00 |
| 100 | $1395 | $139,500.00 |
| 250 | $1280 | $320,000.00 |
| 500 | $1195 | $597,500.00 |
EP2SGX90FF1508I3 Overview
What is a Stratix II GX FPGA? It is Altera's third-generation high-density programmable logic device that combines a scalable logic fabric with embedded high-speed serial transceivers and source-synchronous I/O. FPGAs sit at the top of the programmable logic hierarchy, between fixed-function ASICs and discrete logic, providing parallel hardware execution with field-updatable configuration via SRAM cells. Stratix II GX specifically targets serial-connectivity applications where on-chip multi-gigabit transceivers replace external PHY chips.
Key features include 4 to 20 embedded transceiver channels with clock-data recovery, dedicated source-synchronous I/O banks for DDR/DDR2/QDR memory interfaces, support for external memory interfaces up to DDR2 SDRAM, and Altera's TriMatrix memory architecture with MLAB, M512, and M4K blocks. The device integrates hard PCI Express, Serial RapidIO, and 10-Gbps Ethernet PHY intellectual property (IP) cores, enabling protocol acceleration without consuming logic resources.
The 90-nm Stratix II GX architecture uses adaptive logic modules (ALMs) rather than traditional 4-input LUTs, achieving finer-grained logic packing. Transceivers integrate pre-emphasis, equalization, and output-voltage swing control to meet backplane and chip-to-chip signal-integrity requirements across the full 600 Mbps to 6.375 Gbps operating range.
Typical applications include 10 Gigabit Ethernet line cards, PCI Express Gen1/Gen2 endpoint and root-complex designs, Serial RapidIO DSP farms, base-station baseband processing, high-speed serial backplane bridging, and broadcast video switching fabrics. Industrial-grade parts in the FF1508 FineLine BGA are specified from -40 Β°C to +100 Β°C ambient for telecom and industrial operating environments.
When designing with this device, ensure the power-supply decoupling network matches the Stratix II GX PDN reference design; the 1508-ball FineLine BGA power-pin count exceeds 200 pins requiring a 6-layer board minimum. Use the Quartus II design software (version 9.0 or later) with the Stratix II GX device library; older Quartus versions do not support this family.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternative ordering codes, and practical Quartus design notes not found in the Altera datasheet, helping engineers evaluate the EP2SGX90FF1508I3 against newer Stratix IV/V variants for legacy board reuse.
Drop-in alternatives for EP2SGX90FF1508I3 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 EP2SGX90FF1508I3 (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Configuration Method, Speed Grade, Family, Mounting Type.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP2SGX90FF1508I3N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1460 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2SGX90EF1508I4
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1565 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2SGX90F1508
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet βEP2SGX90FF1508
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet βEP2S90F1508I4
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$3525.1 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2S90F1508I4N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$310 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2SGX90FF1508C7
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$738.38 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP2SGX90FF1508I3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix II GX |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 90,960 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 90,960 |
| Embedded Memory (Total) | 4.5 Mbits |
| High-Speed Transceiver Channels | 4 to 20 (device-dependent) |
| Maximum Transceiver Data Rate | 6.375 Gbps |
| Maximum User Clock Frequency | 622.08 MHz |
| Core Supply Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.15 V to 1.25 V |
| Process Technology | 90 nm CMOS |
| Package | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) |
| Operating Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40 Β°C to +100 Β°C ambient) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Compliant (Pb-free finish, RoHS per Altera PCN) |
| Configuration Method | SRAM, JTAG, Passive Serial, Fast Passive Parallel |
| Hard IP Cores | PCI Express Gen1, Serial RapidIO, 10G Ethernet PHY |
EP2SGX90FF1508I3 1508-ball fineline bga (40 mm) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP2SGX90FF1508I3 (1508-ball fineline bga (40 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 EP2SGX90FF1508I3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP2SGX90FF1508I3 is suitable for 6 applications: 10 Gigabit Ethernet Line Card, PCI Express Gen1/Gen2 Endpoint, Serial RapidIO Base Station, High-Speed Serial Backplane Bridging, Broadcast Video Switching Fabric, Industrial Imaging and Test Instrumentation.
10 Gigabit Ethernet Line Card
The EP2SGX90FF1508I3 is well suited to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) line-card designs because its 20 embedded transceiver channels can each operate at the 6.375 Gbps line rate needed for XAUI / 10GbE PHY operation. With 90,960 logic cells available, the device can absorb the full 10GbE MAC plus associated buffer management and statistics counters in fabric, while the embedded hard IP cores accelerate XAUI encoding. Reference designs from Altera (AN-456) demonstrate line-card throughput at line rate, and the 1508-ball FineLine BGA package provides the I/O density needed to break out 10+ transceiver channels plus external DDR2 memory. Compared with discrete SERDES plus FPGA approaches, the integrated transceiver approach reduces BOM cost by ~30% and shrinks PCB area. Power budget typically ranges 12-18 W for full-rate 10GbE operation.
Recommended
PCI Express Gen1/Gen2 Endpoint
The EP2SGX90FF1508I3 integrates a hard PCI Express IP core that supports Gen1 (2.5 Gbps) and Gen2 (5.0 Gbps) operation without consuming logic resources, making it ideal for endpoint card designs in server backplanes and industrial compute modules. The 4 to 20 transceiver channels can be allocated to PCIe lanes plus auxiliary serial links, while the 90,960 logic cells absorb the PCIe Transaction Layer, Data Link Layer, and application logic. Reference designs for PIPE-compliant PHY operation ship with Quartus II 9.0 SP2. Compared to soft PCIe IP in FPGAs without hard cores, the integrated PCIe core saves approximately 8,000 logic cells and reduces latency by 30%, both critical for Gen2 throughput. Industrial-grade temperature operation suits outdoor and industrial server environments.
Recommended
Serial RapidIO Base Station
For wireless base-station baseband processing, the EP2SGX90FF1508I3 supports Serial RapidIO (SRIO) at 1.25 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 3.125 Gbps, and 5.0 Gbps line rates, enabling DSP-farm interconnection in UMTS, LTE, and WiMAX basestations. The high logic cell count accommodates multiple SRIO lanes plus CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface) logic to connect the baseband to RF front ends. With 4.5 Mbits of TriMatrix memory, the device buffers MAC-layer traffic without external SRAM, reducing PCB complexity and BOM. Reference designs from Altera demonstrate full 4x SRIO operation at 5 Gbps with deterministic latency. Industrial temperature grade supports outdoor cabinet deployment at telecom cell sites with ambient temperatures from -40 Β°C to +100 Β°C.
Recommended
High-Speed Serial Backplane Bridging
The EP2SGX90FF1508I3 is widely deployed in serial backplane applications such as AdvancedTCA, MicroTCA, and proprietary telecom backplanes where multiple line cards communicate over multi-gigabit serial links. Each transceiver channel supports pre-emphasis and equalization to drive signals across 30-40 inches of FR4 backplane material at 6.375 Gbps. With 20 transceiver channels available, a single FPGA can implement a 16-lane switch fabric with four spare channels for redundancy or expansion. The 1508-ball FineLine BGA package provides the signal pin count and ground/power pin density required for clean signal-integrity at 6+ Gbps. Industrial-grade operation and lead-free compliance suit telecom carrier-grade equipment with strict reliability requirements.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Switching Fabric
In broadcast video routers and SDI-over-IP gateway designs, the EP2SGX90FF1508I3's 20 transceiver channels can multiplex multiple uncompressed HD-SDI or 3G-SDI streams into 10GbE trunks for studio-to-studio transport. The device's 90,960 logic cells accommodate full SMPTE 424M/425M SDI embedding/demultiplexing and the IP encapsulation layer concurrently, replacing multiple dedicated crossbar ASICs in legacy designs. Altera's broadcast IP library includes SDI receiver/transmitter reference designs that have been production-proven across major broadcast equipment vendors. The industrial temperature grade supports fanless chassis operation in controlled studio environments. Compared to ASIC-based designs, this FPGA approach enables in-field protocol updates as SMPTE standards evolve.
Recommended
Industrial Imaging and Test Instrumentation
For high-speed camera link aggregation, medical imaging pre-processor boards, and high-channel-count oscilloscope/logic-analyzer acquisition front ends, the EP2SGX90FF1508I3's combination of transceivers and dense logic fabric enables real-time aggregation of multiple Camera Link, CoaXPress, or LVDS camera streams. The 622.08 MHz maximum user clock supports high-speed ADC sampling, and the 4.5 Mbits of embedded memory buffer pixel data without external SRAM. Industrial temperature operation suits factory-floor imaging stations. Reference designs demonstrate full CoaXPress host operation at 6.25 Gbps per channel with deterministic latency, enabling multi-camera inspection systems where synchronized capture is required.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP2SGX90FF1508I3 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP2SGX90FF1508I3N | EP2SGX90EF1508I4 | EP2SGX90F1508 | EP2S90F1508I4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (now Intel FPGA) | Altera (now Intel FPGA) | Altera (now Intel FPGA) | Altera (now Intel FPGA) | Altera (now Intel FPGA) |
| Package | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) - same | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) - same | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) - same | 1508-ball FineLine BGA (40 mm) - same |
| Logic Cells | 90,960 | 90,960 (same die) | 90,960 (same die, Enhanced routing) | 90,960 (same die) | 90,000 (Stratix II non-GX) |
| Embedded Transceivers | 4-20 channels, up to 6.375 Gbps | 4-20 channels, up to 6.375 Gbps (same) | 4-20 channels, up to 6.375 Gbps (same) | 4-20 channels, up to 6.375 Gbps (same) | None (Stratix II has no transceivers) |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.15 V - 1.25 V | 1.15 V - 1.25 V (same) | 1.15 V - 1.25 V (same) | 1.15 V - 1.25 V (same) | 1.15 V - 1.25 V (same) |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (-40 Β°C to +100 Β°C ambient) | Industrial (-40 Β°C to +100 Β°C) | Industrial (-40 Β°C to +100 Β°C) | Commercial default | Industrial (-40 Β°C to +100 Β°C) |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Yes (RoHS-compliant) | Yes (Pb-free, explicit N suffix) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (RoHS-compliant) | No (legacy SnPb finish; use I4N for Pb-free) |
| Embedded Memory | 4.5 Mbits TriMatrix | 4.5 Mbits (same) | 4.5 Mbits (same) | 4.5 Mbits (same) | 4.5 Mbits (same Stratix II base) |
| Approx. Unit Price (USD, qty-1) | 1850.00 | 1860.00 (LTB premium) | 1925.00 (Enhanced routing premium) | 1820.00 | 1480.00 (no transceivers) |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial-temperature drop-in variant available with explicit N suffix (vs EP2SGX90FF1508I3N)
- Higher-density 130K LE variant in same 1508-ball package (vs EP2SGX130GF1508I4)
- Integrated PCI Express and 10G Ethernet hard IP cores (vs EP2S90F1508I4 (Stratix II non-GX))
- Lower-power successor exists with same package (vs EP4SGX230KF40I3N (Stratix IV GX))
Design Notes
Estimated: 1508-ball FineLine BGA at 1.0 mm pitch requires a 6-layer PCB minimum with a 0.5 oz power plane and 1 oz signal layers. The Altera Stratix II GX PDN reference design uses 240 power pins (VCCINT + VCCIO + GND), so allocate at least 4 inner layers for decoupling capacitors. Use micro-vias stacked under the BGA to break out the inner rows; signal integrity analysis is recommended for any transceiver channel routed more than 5 cm on FR4. Severity: critical.
Estimated: At full transceiver utilization (20 channels at 6.375 Gbps), the EP2SGX90FF1508I3 dissipates approximately 12-18 W. The 1508-ball FineLine BGA has a published ΞΈJA of approximately 6.5 Β°C/W with a 36-ball thermal array exposed at the bottom, but airflow of 200 LFM minimum is required to keep junction temperature below 100 Β°C. Without airflow, throttle to 8-10 active channels or upgrade to a heatsink-mounted variant. Severity: recommended.
Do not confuse 'EP2SGX90FF1508I3' with 'EP2SGX90FF1508C7' or other temperature-grade variants - the industrial temperature grade (I3 suffix) requires -40 Β°C to +100 Β°C verification across your operating envelope. Also note that Quartus II version 9.0 SP2 or later is required to synthesize designs targeting this device; Quartus II versions prior to 9.0 do not include the Stratix II GX device library updates. Always run TimeQuest timing analysis with the Stratix II GX device model to validate transceiver setup/hold margins at 6.375 Gbps. Severity: critical.
Transceiver channels operating above 5 Gbps require 100-ohm differential impedance control on both TX and RX pairs. Use HyperLynx or SiSoft QCD for pre-route simulation, and verify post-route analysis including crosstalk aggressor-victim pairs across the full channel. Pre-emphasis and equalization settings should be tuned per-channel with PRBS31 patterns; the Altera Transceiver Toolkit (included in Quartus II 9.x) provides built-in eye-margin analysis. Severity: critical.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance per Altera 2006 lead-free conversion PCN. AEC-Q100 not applicable (industrial-grade FPGAs use -40 Β°C to +100 Β°C ambient spec, not automotive AEC-Q100 grades). REACH SVHC statement available from Intel FPGA Quality department. Conflict-minerals reporting per Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
