EP4CE15F23C7N - Cyclone IV E FPGA, 15K LE, 484-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP4CE15F23C7N β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $22.94 | $22.94 |
| 10 | $20.65 | $206.50 |
| 100 | $17.4 | $1,740.00 |
| 500 | $14.95 | $7,475.00 |
| 1,000 | $12.85 | $12,850.00 |
EP4CE15F23C7N Overview
An FPGA is a programmable logic device built from an array of configurable logic blocks (LBs), programmable interconnect, and embedded memory/DSP blocks. Compared with a CPLD, an FPGA offers far higher logic density and dedicated multiplier/M9K memory blocks. The Cyclone IV E family sits in the hierarchy: programmable logic device -> FPGA -> low-cost FPGA -> SRAM-based FPGA, and is widely used as a glue-logic and DSP co-processor alongside microcontrollers and ASICs.
Key features include 56 embedded 18 x 18 multipliers, four general-purpose PLLs, 20 global clock networks, and 343 user I/Os distributed across eight I/O banks. The 484-FBGA package offers high-density interconnect for multi-lane parallel designs, while the 60 nm process keeps typical static power below 150 mW, making the part attractive for power-constrained industrial designs.
Architecturally, the Cyclone IV E uses a 4-input look-up table (LUT) logic element, M9K memory blocks (each 9 Kbit), and DSP blocks for 18 x 18 signed multiplication. Configuration is loaded through passive serial (PS), fast passive parallel (FPP), or Altera-compatible JTAG, with built-in decompression and encryption support via AES-128. The I7 speed grade offers the second-fastest -7 timing within the Cyclone IV E family, suitable for 100 MHz+ system buses.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video processing pipelines, machine vision pre-processors, telecom interface cards, and low-cost prototyping platforms. The Cyclone IV E family is also popular as a PCIe endpoint bridge, sensor-fusion pre-processor, and educational logic-lab FPGA.
When designing, ensure that the Quartus II (13.0sp1 or later) pin assignments match the 484-FBGA ball map, since the FBGA footprint differs from the larger 484-pin BGA used on some competitor parts. Decoupling: place 100 nF X7R 0402 capacitors within 3 mm of each VCCINT/VCCA pin, with 10 uF bulk capacitors on each supply rail.
This page combines distributor pricing, drop-in same-package alternatives, and Quartus-aware design notes that go beyond the manufacturer datasheet itself.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CE15F23C7N 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 EP4CE15F23C7N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Speed Grade, Process Technology, Package, Configuration Modes, Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CE15F23C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$33.1 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE15F23C6N
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4CE15E22C7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$105.4 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE15E22C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$15.95 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE30F23C8N
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4CE10F23C8N
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4CE15F23C7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV E |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 15,408 |
| Embedded Memory | 516,096 bits (56 M9K blocks) |
| Embedded Multipliers (18 x 18) | 56 |
| User I/Os | 343 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Global Clock Networks | 20 |
| Process Technology | 60 nm low-power |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.2 V |
| I/O Standards Supported | LVTTL, LVCMOS (1.0/1.5/1.8/2.5/3.0/3.3 V), SSTL, HSTL, PCI, PCI-X |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (F23) |
| Speed Grade | C7 (I7 - meets C8 timing up to 125 C) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 85 C (commercial) |
| Configuration Modes | Passive Serial (PS), Fast Passive Parallel (FPP), JTAG, Altera AS |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
EP4CE15F23C7N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | IO_A1 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin A2 | IO_A2 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin B1 | VCCIO8 β I/O bank 8 supply voltage |
| Pin B2 | IO_B2 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin C1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin C2 | IO_C2 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin D1 | IO_D1 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin D2 | VCCIO8 β I/O bank 8 supply voltage |
| Pin E1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin E2 | IO_E2 β I/O bank 8, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin F1 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin F2 | IO_F2 β I/O bank 7, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin G1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin G2 | VCCIO7 β I/O bank 7 supply voltage |
| Pin H1 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin H2 | IO_H2 β I/O bank 7, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin J1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin J2 | IO_J2 β I/O bank 7, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin K1 | VCCIO6 β I/O bank 6 supply voltage |
| Pin K2 | IO_K2 β I/O bank 6, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin L1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin L2 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin M1 | IO_M1 β I/O bank 6, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin M2 | VCCIO5 β I/O bank 5 supply voltage |
| Pin N1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin N2 | IO_N2 β I/O bank 5, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin P1 | VCCA β PLL analog supply voltage |
| Pin P2 | GND β Ground |
| Pin R1 | IO_R1 β I/O bank 5, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin R2 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin T1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin T2 | IO_T2 β I/O bank 5, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin U1 | VCCIO4 β I/O bank 4 supply voltage |
| Pin U2 | IO_U2 β I/O bank 4, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin V1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin V2 | VCCINT β Core supply voltage 1.2 V |
| Pin W1 | IO_W1 β I/O bank 4, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin W2 | VCCIO3 β I/O bank 3 supply voltage |
| Pin Y1 | GND β Ground |
| Pin Y2 | IO_Y2 β I/O bank 3, general-purpose user I/O |
| Pin AA1 | nCONFIG β Configuration start (active low) |
| Pin AA2 | MSEL0 β Configuration mode select bit 0 |
| Pin AB1 | nSTATUS β Configuration status (active low) |
| Pin AB2 | MSEL1 β Configuration mode select bit 1 |
| Pin AC1 | CONF_DONE β Configuration complete (active high) |
| Pin AC2 | TCK β JTAG test clock |
| Pin AD1 | TDI β JTAG test data in |
| Pin AD2 | TMS β JTAG test mode select |
Typical Applications
EP4CE15F23C7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing Pipelines, Machine Vision Pre-Processor, Telecom Interface Cards, PCIe Endpoint Bridge, Educational / Maker FPGA Boards.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP4CE15F23C7N suits industrial motor control drives where 343 user I/Os accommodate multi-axis encoder feedback, 56 embedded 18x18 multipliers enable real-time Park/Clarke transforms for field-oriented control (FOC), and four PLLs generate jitter-free PWM time bases from a single crystal. Its 516 Kbit embedded RAM stores position/trajectory lookup tables without external SRAM. The 1.2 V core plus 60 nm low-power process keeps the FPGA below 1.5 W under typical 50 MHz control loops, allowing fan-less operation in sealed enclosures. Industrial designers favor Cyclone IV E for deterministic latency versus MCU-based alternatives.
Recommended
Video Processing Pipelines
For HD video processing, the EP4CE15F23C7N provides 56 multipliers and 343 I/Os that can implement 720p60 video scaling, color-space conversion (YUV422 to RGB888), and on-screen display overlay. The M9K block memory holds line buffers for de-interlacing or motion-adaptive noise reduction. Four PLLs derive pixel clocks from 27 MHz or 74.25 MHz reference inputs at sub-100 ps jitter. Compared with a DSP or MCU, the FPGA's parallel architecture processes one pixel per clock cycle at 74 MHz, matching standard HD rates. Designers pair the device with HDMI transmitters such as the TFP410 for DVI/HDMI output.
Recommended
Machine Vision Pre-Processor
In machine vision systems, the EP4CE15F23C7N acts as a real-time image pre-processor between a CMOS sensor and a host processor. The 15,408 LEs and 56 multipliers implement Sobel/LoG edge detection, thresholding, and connected-component labelling for object detection, while 516 Kbit embedded RAM buffers incoming frames. The 343 I/Os interface to MIPI-CSI, parallel CMOS, and LVDS camera interfaces using the FPGA's HSTL/SSTL I/O standards. Low static power (typical 100 mW) is critical for thermal-sensitive industrial cameras. Quartus II IP cores simplify MIPI-CSI-2 and D-PHY bridging.
Recommended
Telecom Interface Cards
The EP4CE15F23C7N serves as a low-cost glue-logic and protocol converter in telecom line cards. Its 343 I/Os and 56 multipliers implement TDM-to-Ethernet bridging, JESD204B subclass-0/1 sync, and CPRI framer functions in a single chip. Four PLLs generate multiple reference clocks for line-rate SERDES-adjacent logic, while 516 Kbit RAM holds packet buffers for store-and-forward. The 484-FBGA F23 package exposes all eight I/O banks for mixed voltage (1.8 V LVCMOS + 2.5 V SSTL) interfacing. Industrial temperature versions extend deployment to outdoor base-station equipment.
Recommended
PCIe Endpoint Bridge
Cyclone IV E FPGAs include hard PCIe Gen1 IP cores usable as PCIe x1/x4 endpoints in industrial host adapters. The EP4CE15F23C7N's 15,408 LEs implement DMA engines, scatter-gather controllers, and protocol state machines while consuming only 3-4% of the logic. Four PLLs supply the 100 MHz PCIe reference and 250 MHz user clocks from a single 100 MHz crystal. The 484-FBGA F23 package supports BGA breakout to standard PCIe edge-finger layouts. Designers pair the part with the PEX8311 PCIe-to-local bus bridge or use the soft PCIe core to interface directly to a host CPU.
Recommended
Educational / Maker FPGA Boards
The EP4CE15F23C7N is featured on several open-source FPGA development boards (Terasic DE0-Nano-compatible variants) used in university logic-design courses and maker projects. With 15,408 LEs, it offers enough capacity for full 8-bit CPU cores, VGA graphics, USB-device implementations, and audio processing labs. The 343 I/Os expose Arduino-shield headers, PMOD ports, and 7-segment displays. Quartus II Web Edition (free) supports this device for academic users. Student labs typically include Nios II soft-core CPU instantiation, custom instruction extensions, and Avalon bus interfacing.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CE15F23C7N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CE15F23C8N | EP4CE15F23C6N | EP4CE15E22C7N | EP4CE30F23C8N | EP4CE10F23C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 484-FBGA (F23) | 484-FBGA (F23) - same | 484-FBGA (F23) - same | 484-FBGA (F23) - same | 484-FBGA (F23) - same | 484-FBGA (F23) - same |
| Logic Elements | 15,408 | 15,408 (same) | 15,408 (same) | 15,408 (same) | 28,848 (+87%) | 10,320 (-33%) |
| Speed Grade | C7 | C8 (slower) | C6 (faster) | C7 (same) | C8 (slower) | C8 (slower) |
| Embedded Memory (Kbit) | 516 | 516 (same) | 516 (same) | 378 (-27%, no multipliers block RAM) | 608 (+18%) | 414 (-20%) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 56 | 56 (same) | 56 (same) | 0 (no DSP block) | 66 (+18%) | 23 (-59%) |
| User I/Os | 343 | 343 (same) | 343 (same) | 343 (same) | 328 (-4%) | 224 (-35%) |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V (same) | 1.2 V (same) | 1.2 V (same) | 1.2 V (same) | 1.2 V (same) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-tier C7 speed grade in the Cyclone IV E 484-FBGA family at the same logic density (vs EP4CE15F23C8N)
- Embedded DSP multiplier blocks for high-performance fixed-point math (vs EP4CE15E22C7N)
- Optimal balance of logic density, I/O count, and cost (vs EP4CE30F23C8N and EP4CE10F23C8N)
Design Notes
Decouple every VCCINT pin with a 100 nF X7R 0402 ceramic capacitor placed within 3 mm of the BGA ball. Add 10 uF bulk capacitors on each VCCIO bank rail and one 22 uF tantalum or polymer cap per VCCA pin. Cyclone IV E devices draw approximately 80-150 mA per VCCINT bank depending on logic utilization and toggle rate. Estimated: a fully-utilized EP4CE15F23C7N at 50 MHz clock and 80% utilization draws approximately 500-700 mA from 1.2 V; design the LDO (e.g., LT3080) or buck regulator (e.g., TPS54331) for at least 1 A headroom.
The 484-FBGA F23 package uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch, requiring a 0.5 mm via-in-pad design with filled and plated-over micro-vias on the top layer. Fan-out to break-out vias on the second layer, and place 4-layer PCB stack-up with continuous VCCINT and GND planes adjacent to the BGA. Trace the 8 differential-pair capable banks with 100 ohm differential impedance. Estimated: signal trace widths of 0.127 mm and spacing of 0.20 mm on a 0.20 mm dielectric give 100 ohm +/-10% differential for SSTL/HSTL standards.
Do not confuse the 484-FBGA F23 footprint with the 484-pin BGA used on the larger Cyclone IV GX family; ball maps differ. Also note that the C7 speed grade devices still meet all C8 timing specifications when operated between 100 C and 125 C, allowing industrial temperature profiles without timing closure issues. Always enable the Quartus II 'Slow 1100 mV 100C' and 'Fast 1300 mV 0C' corners during timing analysis. The POR time for standard POR is 50-200 ms; ensure each power supply reaches its recommended operating range within 50 ms to avoid incomplete configuration.
Each PLL requires a dedicated VCCA pin (2.5 V) and a VCCD_PLL (1.2 V) pin, each with its own pi-shaped RC filter (1 uF + 2.7 ohm + 1 uF + 1 uF on VCCA; ferrite bead + decoupling caps on VCCD_PLL). Failure to isolate the PLL analog supply causes increased jitter and duty-cycle distortion on derived clocks. Reference design CYIV-PWRDN.pdf from Altera (now Intel) provides the recommended filter topology. Estimated: with proper filtering, jitter is typically below 50 ps RMS at 250 MHz output.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliant per Intel product declaration. Not AEC-Q100 qualified (industrial FPGA only). Lead-free SAC405 BGA solder balls. CMRT/EMRT conflict-mineral declaration on file per Intel 2024 sustainability report. MSL level per JEDEC J-STD-020: MSL3.