EP4CE55F23C9L - Cyclone IV E FPGA, 55K LE, 484-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP4CE55F23C9L ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $127.89 | $127.89 |
| 10 | $115.1 | $1,151.00 |
| 100 | $102.31 | $10,231.00 |
| 500 | $89.52 | $44,760.00 |
| 1,000 | $76.73 | $76,730.00 |
EP4CE55F23C9L Overview
A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a programmable semiconductor whose logic fabric, routing, and I/O cells can be configured by the customer after manufacture. FPGAs sit at the top of the digital-logic hierarchy between standard microcontrollers (fixed-function, software-driven) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs, fixed-function, hardware-only). Cyclone IV E FPGAs in particular are SRAM-based devices that must be configured from an external flash on every power-up, which makes them ideal for design iteration, prototyping, and low-to-medium-volume production runs.
Key features include 55,856 logic elements, 156 embedded 18x18 multipliers (for DSP), 4 PLLs, 2.5 Mb of embedded SRAM, and 324 general-purpose I/Os that support LVDS, SSTL, LVCMOS, and PCI/PCI-X interfaces. The device supports up to 200 MHz of system performance and integrates a hard memory controller for DDR/DDR2/DDR3 SDRAM, QDR II SRAM, and RLDRAM II. Hard PCIe hard IP blocks are not present on Cyclone IV E (those are Cyclone IV GX), but soft PCIe cores can be implemented in the fabric.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video processing pipelines, telecom bridging, low-cost ASIC prototyping, and embedded vision. The combination of embedded multipliers, large memory, and abundant I/O makes EP4CE55F23C9L a strong fit for parallel DSP workloads such as FIR filtering, FFT engines, and image preprocessing where a microcontroller's sequential execution model becomes a bottleneck.
Design consideration: the 'L' (low-leakage) variant reduces static current versus the standard core but at the cost of slightly slower timing closure. Ensure your Quartus Prime timing analysis reflects the chosen speed grade, and budget sufficient decoupling capacitance near the BGA power balls to meet the device's dynamic current demand.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing from Mouser/DigiKey/Heisener, lists drop-in same-package variants from the Cyclone IV E family, and provides drop-in decision guidance not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CE55F23C9L — 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 EP4CE55F23C9L (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Speed Grade, Package, Embedded 18x18 Multipliers, Operating Temperature, Process Technology.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CE55F23C8L
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$112.9 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F23C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$56.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F23C6
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$36.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F29C9L
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$98.6 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F23I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$119.6 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F23C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$74 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CE55F23C9L Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV E |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 55,856 |
| Embedded Memory | 2,396,160 bits (2.5 Mbit) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 156 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| User I/Os | 324 |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (F23) |
| Speed Grade | C9 (fastest commercial/industrial) |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C (industrial) |
| Process Node | 60 nm low-power |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V (typical) |
| Configuration Method | SRAM-based, requires external flash |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Hard PCIe Blocks | 0 (soft PCIe via fabric) |
EP4CE55F23C9L 484-ball fbga (f23) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CE55F23C9L (484-ball fbga (f23) 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 EP4CE55F23C9L.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CE55F23C9L is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control, Video Processing Pipelines, ASIC Prototyping, Telecom Bridging and Aggregation, Embedded Vision Systems, Low-Cost DSP Acceleration.
Industrial Motor Control
The EP4CE55F23C9L drives multi-axis field-oriented control (FOC) loops with its 156 embedded 18x18 multipliers that execute Park/Clarke transforms and PID control at microsecond intervals. Four PLLs generate precisely phase-shifted PWM carriers for 3-phase inverter bridges, while the 324 user I/Os interface to encoder feedback, gate drivers, and protection circuits. The -40C to +85C industrial temperature range tolerates factory-floor enclosure heat without derating. Compared with a microcontroller, the FPGA's parallel multiplier array eliminates sequential bottlenecks that limit loop rates in high-pole-pair motors. Place the FPGA adjacent to the I/O connector to minimize encoder trace lengths and reduce susceptibility to switching-noise injection from the inverter stage.
Recommended
Video Processing Pipelines
The EP4CE55F23C9L's 2.5 Mbit of embedded SRAM and 156 multipliers enable real-time video processing at 1080p60 resolutions. Applications include deinterlacing, color space conversion, scaling, and overlay composition for broadcast, surveillance, and machine vision. The hard memory controller interfaces directly to DDR2/DDR3 SDRAM for line buffering, while 324 I/Os accept BT.656, BT.1120, HDMI, or Camera Link inputs. The C9 speed grade closes timing at 148.5 MHz pixel clocks without timing margin loss. Use FPGA fabric for the chroma upsampler and scalar; reserve a microcontroller for OSD bitmap rendering and HDMI CEC handshaking. Ensure the BGA layout maintains matched-length LVDS pairs for parallel video interfaces.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
The EP4CE55F23C9L serves as a cost-effective ASIC prototype platform for designs targeting 30-50K gate ASICs. The Quartus Prime toolchain supports RTL synthesis in VHDL and Verilog, enabling design teams to validate their ASIC RTL on real silicon before committing to mask sets. The 324 I/Os map to standard ASIC package pinouts with minimal adaptation, and the device supports JTAG-based debug with SignalTap II logic analyzer IP. Compared with ASIC NRE, the EP4CE55F23C9L eliminates $500K-$2M mask costs for prototypes, accelerating iteration cycles by 3-6 months. For multi-FPGA partitioning of larger ASICs, stack multiple EP4CE55F23C9L devices with inter-FPGA LVDS serialization.
Recommended
Telecom Bridging and Aggregation
The EP4CE55F23C9L bridges legacy telecom interfaces (T1/E1, H.110, MVIP) to modern Ethernet or PCIe backplanes in central office equipment. The 4 PLLs derive multiple clock domains from a single oscillator, and the 156 embedded multipliers implement G.711/G.729 voice codecs or echo cancellers in fabric. Industrial temperature operation supports outdoor cabinet deployment. The device's 324 I/Os handle H.110 bus (32 time slots) plus multiple T1/E1 framers simultaneously, with headroom for control-plane management. Design tip: use dedicated LVDS pairs for H.110 clock distribution to meet the 8 ns setup/hold requirements.
Recommended
Embedded Vision Systems
The EP4CE55F23C9L performs real-time preprocessing on image sensor streams for industrial inspection, robotics, and surveillance. The 156 embedded 18x18 multipliers run Sobel, Laplacian, and convolutional kernels at full camera frame rate without offloading to a host CPU. 2.5 Mbit of embedded memory holds dual line buffers for 1080p streams, and the hard memory controller interfaces to DDR3 for larger frame storage. Compared with GPU-based vision platforms, the FPGA delivers deterministic latency critical for closed-loop robot control. The 324 I/Os drive MIPI-CSI2, LVDS, or parallel CMOS image sensor inputs with appropriate deserialization IP.
Recommended
Low-Cost DSP Acceleration
The EP4CE55F23C9L accelerates DSP workloads including FIR filtering, FFT computation, and digital downconversion for SDR applications. The 156 dedicated 18x18 multipliers deliver up to 156 GMACS of multiply-accumulate throughput, while 4 PLLs generate the multiple clock domains typical of DSP data paths. 2.5 Mbit embedded SRAM holds coefficient tables and intermediate samples without DRAM round-trip latency. Compared with a DSP processor running at 1 GHz, the FPGA processes multiple DSP streams in parallel at lower clock rates. Use the C9 speed grade to close timing on 200 MHz datapaths; descend to C7 or C8 for less demanding sample rates.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CE55F23C9L — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CE55F23C8L | EP4CE55F23C7N | EP4CE55F23C6 | EP4CE55F23C8N | EP4CE55F29C9L | EP4CE55F23I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | 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 | 780-FBGA (F29) - different | 484-FBGA (F23) - same |
| Logic Elements | 55,856 | 55,856 | 55,856 | 55,856 | 55,856 | 55,856 | 55,856 |
| Embedded Memory | 2,396,160 bits (2.5 Mbit) | 2,396,160 bits | 2,396,160 bits | 2,396,160 bits | 2,396,160 bits | 2,396,160 bits | 2,396,160 bits |
| Speed Grade | C9 (fastest) | C8 | C7 | C6 | C8 industrial | C9 | I7 |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C industrial | -40C to +85C | -40C to +85C | 0C to +85C commercial | -40C to +85C | -40C to +85C | -40C to +85C |
| User I/Os | 324 | 324 | 324 | 324 | 324 | 374 | 324 |
| Embedded Multipliers | 156 (18x18) | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 |
| PLLs | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Key Differentiators
- Fastest C9 speed grade in the Cyclone IV E 55K family (vs EP4CE55F23C8L)
- Industrial temperature grade with low-leakage silicon (vs EP4CE55F23C8N)
- 324 user I/Os in compact 484-FBGA footprint (vs EP4CE55F29C9L (780-FBGA))
Design Notes
Estimated: at 200 MHz internal clock with 75% logic utilization, EP4CE55F23C9L core current draw reaches approximately 0.8-1.2 A at 1.2 V. Design a 4-layer PCB with a dedicated 1.2 V power plane fed by a switching regulator with +/-3% tolerance. Add 22 uF + 0.1 uF decoupling capacitor pairs within 5 mm of every power ball group. Per the Cyclone IV E power playbook, dynamic current spikes during simultaneous logic toggle events can exceed 2 A transient, so regulator bandwidth must exceed 500 kHz. Inrush current during configuration flash loading can also stress the regulator; sequence the 1.2 V rail after the 2.5 V PLL analog supply.
Estimated: at typical industrial workloads (50% utilization, 100 MHz toggle rate, 1.2 V), junction temperature rises 15-20C above ambient. The 484-FBGA package has thermal resistance of approximately 18 C/W with 4 thermal balls. Place thermal vias in the BGA land pattern to inner copper planes, and use at least 2 inner ground/power planes to spread heat laterally. For enclosed industrial enclosures exceeding 60C ambient, derate toggle activity by 20% or add passive heatsink on the package top side. Industrial-grade silicon rated to +85C junction operates safely in most factory-floor environments without active cooling.
Route all 8 dedicated configuration balls (nCONFIG, nSTATUS, CONF_DONE, MSEL, JTAG TCK/TMS/TDO/TDI) directly to the configuration flash and JTAG header with maximum 50 mm trace length. Match LVDS pair lengths within 0.5 mm to avoid skew on DDR/DDR2 memory interfaces. Use 4-layer stackup with continuous GND plane on layer 2 directly beneath BGA breakout traces to control impedance and reduce crosstalk. Per the Altera Cyclone IV E hardware design guidelines, separate analog PLL supply balls (VCCA) from digital logic balls with a ferrite bead filter. Place the 50 MHz configuration clock source within 25 mm of the CLKUSR ball to minimize jitter.
Do not assume C9 speed grade timing margins apply to industrial temperature corners - re-run Quartus Prime Slow 1100mV 85C timing analysis for production sign-off. Verify that the configuration flash memory capacity exceeds the compressed FPGA bitstream size with at least 30% spare. The 'L' (low-leakage) variant of EP4CE55F23C9L has slightly slower timing at cold temperatures versus the standard core - validate cold-start behavior if your application powers up below -20C. Finally, do not rely on internal pull-ups on JTAG TCK - add external 10 kohm pull-downs on JTAG signals to prevent inadvertent configuration mode entry in noisy environments.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliant per Altera (Intel) product page. AEC-Q100 not applicable for FPGA. MSL level [DATA_NEEDED] from packaging label.
