EP4CE55F29C8L - Cyclone IV E FPGA, 55K LE, 780-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP4CE55F29C8L β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $220.5 | $220.50 |
| 10 | $198.75 | $1,987.50 |
| 100 | $175 | $17,500.00 |
| 250 | $162.5 | $40,625.00 |
| 500 | $150 | $75,000.00 |
EP4CE55F29C8L Overview
Background knowledge: A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a semiconductor device built around an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnects, and I/O cells that can be reconfigured by the customer after manufacture to implement arbitrary digital circuits. The Cyclone IV E family sits in Intel's low-cost, low-power FPGA portfolio, optimized for high-volume applications where designers need DSP blocks, embedded RAM, and SERDES-free general-purpose I/O without the cost of a high-end SoC FPGA.
Key differentiating features of the EP4CE55F29C8L include 4 PLLs for clock synthesis, 20 global clock networks, support for LVDS, LVPECL, SSTL, HSTL and other high-speed I/O standards, and a core voltage of 1.2 V with hot-socketing capability. The 'L' suffix designates the lower-power speed grade variant operating in the commercial 0C to 85C junction temperature range, while the 'C8' speed grade places it in the middle of the Cyclone IV E speed bin.
Architecturally, the device uses SRAM-based configuration memory that must be loaded from an external flash at power-up, supports JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) boundary-scan, and integrates 4 configuration schemes including AS, PS, JTAG, and FPP. Designers can use the Quartus Prime design software (Lite/Standard/Pro editions) for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure. Compared with the smaller EP4CE40 in the same family, the EP4CE55 adds 25% more logic and embedded memory for medium-density designs.
Typical applications include industrial machine vision, factory automation controllers, motor drive interfaces, video processing and conversion, software-defined radio baseband, and telecommunications line cards. The 780-ball FBGA gives enough I/O and SERDES-free high-speed differential pairs for bridging between parallel CMOS buses and LVDS links.
When designing with the EP4CE55F29C8L, pay close attention to power-rail sequencing (1.2 V core before 2.5 V/3.3 V I/O), use the recommended decoupling scheme from the Pin Connection Guidelines, and verify the IBIS model for signal-integrity simulations on LVDS and DDR traces.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from the same Altera/Intel Cyclone IV family, and practical Quartus Prime design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CE55F29C8L 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 EP4CE55F29C8L (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Speed Grade, Embedded 18x18 Multipliers, RoHS Status, Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CE55F29C8LN
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$78.9 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE55F29C7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$138 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE55F29C6N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$49.95 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE40F29C8L
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$78.36 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE40F29C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$104.6 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE55F23C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$74 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE115F29C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$38.9 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CE55F29C8L Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV E |
| Logic Elements | 55,856 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 2,396,160 bits |
| Embedded Memory (M9K Blocks) | 260 blocks |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 156 |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 374 |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Global Clock Networks | 20 |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Process Technology | 60 nm (low-power) |
| Package | 780-ball FBGA (F29), 29x29 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial, 8 speed bin) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial, 'L' suffix) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Configuration Schemes | AS, PS, JTAG, FPP |
| JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) | Supported |
| Configuration Memory | SRAM-based (external flash required) |
EP4CE55F29C8L Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 (LVDS capable) |
| Pin A2 | GND β Ground reference |
| Pin A3 | VCCIO8 β I/O bank 8 supply (1.2 V to 3.3 V) |
| Pin B1 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin B2 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin B3 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin C1 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin C2 | VCCINT β Core supply 1.2 V |
| Pin C3 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin D1 | GND β Ground reference |
| Pin D2 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin D3 | I/O β User I/O bank 8 |
| Pin T1 | nCONFIG β Configuration control (active low) |
| Pin T2 | nSTATUS β Configuration status (active low) |
| Pin T3 | CONF_DONE β Configuration done indicator |
| Pin AE1 | TCK β JTAG test clock (IEEE 1149.1) |
| Pin AE2 | TMS β JTAG test mode select |
| Pin AE3 | TDI β JTAG test data in |
| Pin AH30 | TDO β JTAG test data out |
| Pin AH31 | VCCA_PLL1 β PLL1 analog supply (2.5 V) |
Typical Applications
EP4CE55F29C8L is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Machine Vision and Inspection, Motor Drive and Servo Control, Video Bridging and Format Conversion, Telecommunications Line Cards and Backhaul, Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband, Factory Automation Controllers (PLC / PAC), Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Equipment.
Industrial Machine Vision and Inspection
The EP4CE55F29C8L fits industrial machine-vision pipelines because its 156 embedded 18x18 multipliers and 2,396 Kbit of on-chip SRAM deliver the DSP and buffering needed for Camera-Link, GigE Vision, or MIPI-CSI2 image preprocessing at line rates up to 1 Gbps. The 374 user I/Os expose enough LVDS pairs for direct camera interface plus GPIO for trigger and lighting synchronization, while the 4 PLLs generate independent pixel, line, and frame clocks without external oscillators. According to the Cyclone IV E handbook, the LVDS I/O supports up to 875 Mbps, comfortably covering gigabit serial vision protocols. The 1.2 V core keeps board-level power dissipation manageable in enclosed camera housings.
Recommended
Motor Drive and Servo Control
The EP4CE55F29C8L is a strong fit for multi-axis servo drives and field-oriented control (FOC) of BLDC/PMSM motors thanks to its 156 18x18 multipliers, which run state-of-the-art space-vector PWM and Park/Clarke transforms at 50-100 kHz loop rates. The 374 user I/Os handle 6-axis gate-driver interfaces, encoder quadrature decoding, and resolver excitation simultaneously, while 4 PLLs produce the asymmetric clocks needed for ADC sampling, PWM switching, and safety-watchdog functions. The Cyclone IV E architecture supports hardware Nios II soft-core deployment for housekeeping and CAN/RS-485 stack handling.
Recommended
Video Bridging and Format Conversion
The EP4CE55F29C8L bridges between parallel CMOS camera interfaces, HDMI/DVI, DisplayPort aux channels, and LVDS panels because its 2,396 Kbit of embedded memory absorbs line buffers and color-space conversion look-up tables without external SRAM. The 374 user I/Os and 156 multipliers handle real-time scaling, de-interlacing, and chroma resampling at 1080p60, while the 1.0 mm BGA pitch preserves signal integrity for the many parallel video lanes. Quartus Prime IP libraries include free video-processing cores (deinterlacer, scaler, color-space converter) that map efficiently onto this device.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line Cards and Backhaul
The EP4CE55F29C8L supports small-cell baseband, CPRI front-haul glue logic, and TDM/Ethernet aggregation line cards because its 374 user I/Os accommodate multiple SGMII/SERDES-via-PLL links alongside legacy T1/E1 framing interfaces. The 156 18x18 multipliers accelerate FFT/iFFT blocks for OFDM pre-processing, while 2,396 Kbit of embedded memory buffers packet bursts at line-rate. According to Intel's Cyclone IV E product brief, the device supports DDR/DDR2/QDRII/QDRII+/RLDRAM II external memory, enabling cheap bulk buffering for protocol conversion.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) Baseband
The EP4CE55F29C8L is used in narrowband-to-wideband SDR baseband preprocessing because its 156 embedded 18x18 multipliers perform real-time digital down-conversion (DDC), decimation, and channelization up to 100 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth. The 374 user I/Os interface directly to high-speed ADC/DAC pairs via LVDS, while 2,396 Kbit of embedded memory holds FIR coefficient tables and overlap-save buffers. The 1.2 V core voltage and 60 nm low-power process keep FPGA-only power below 2 W, suitable for portable SDR and tactical radio platforms.
Recommended
Factory Automation Controllers (PLC / PAC)
The EP4CE55F29C8L serves as the processing core of Programmable Automation Controllers because it can host a Nios II/f soft-CPU plus EtherCAT, PROFINET, or EtherNet/IP slave stacks concurrently with deterministic I/O update logic. The 374 user I/Os handle digital and analog I/O modules, encoder interfaces, and high-speed backplane links, while 4 PLLs generate the various industrial Ethernet PHY clocks. The Cyclone IV E 'L' commercial-temperature variant operates 0C to 85C junction range, suiting cabinet-mounted factory environments.
Recommended
Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Equipment
The EP4CE55F29C8L accelerates preprocessing in ultrasound front-ends, endoscopy video pipelines, and low-cost MRI gradient controllers because its 156 18x18 multipliers deliver the parallel FIR and FFT performance required for beamforming and image reconstruction. The 2,396 Kbit of embedded memory buffers raw channel data between ADC bursts and the host processor, while 374 user I/Os connect to multi-channel ADC arrays and low-latency display links. The 1.2 V core and proven Cyclone IV E long-term reliability suit medical equipment life cycles of 10+ years.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CE55F29C8L β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CE55F29C8LN | EP4CE55F29C7N | EP4CE55F29C6N | EP4CE40F29C8L | EP4CE115F29C8N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 780-ball FBGA (F29), 29x29 mm | 780-ball FBGA (F29) - same | 780-ball FBGA (F29) - same | 780-ball FBGA (F29) - same | 780-ball FBGA (F29) - same | 780-ball FBGA (F29) - same |
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 55,856 | 55,856 (identical) | 55,856 (identical) | 55,856 (identical) | 39,600 (-29%) | 114,480 (+105%) |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 2,396,160 | 2,396,160 (identical) | 2,396,160 (identical) | 2,396,160 (identical) | 1,134,000 (-53%) | 3,981,312 (+66%) |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | 116 (-26%) | 266 (+71%) |
| Max User I/O | 374 | 374 | 374 | 374 | 374 | 528 (+41%) |
| Speed Grade | C8 (commercial) | C8 | C7 (slower) | C6 (slowest) | C8 | C8 |
| RoHS Compliant (Pb-free) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (standard finish) | Yes |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V |
Key Differentiators
- Mid-density Cyclone IV E with balanced logic/memory/multiplier resources (vs EP4CE40F29C8L)
- Pin-compatible drop-in with the EP4CE115 for future upgradability (vs EP4CE115F29C8N)
- Wide external memory interface support for legacy industrial systems (vs Lattice ECP5 LFE5U-85F-8BG554C)
- Lower power at equivalent performance compared to high-end FPGAs (vs Xilinx Spartan-6 XC6SLX75-3FGG676)
Design Notes
The EP4CE55F29C8L requires a 1.2 V core supply (VCCINT), a 2.5 V analog PLL supply (VCCA_PLL), and per-bank I/O supplies (VCCIO) that can be set independently to 1.2 V, 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, or 3.3 V. According to Intel's Cyclone IV E pin connection guidelines, all VCCINT pins must be decoupled with 0.1 uF and 10 uF capacitors placed within 100 mils of the BGA balls; power-on sequencing must ensure VCCINT does not exceed VCCIO by more than 0.7 V to avoid latch-up. A soft-start ramp of 1 ms minimum is recommended for the 1.2 V regulator.
Estimated: at typical utilization (60% logic, 50% memory, 75% multipliers toggling at 100 MHz), the EP4CE55F29C8L dissipates approximately 1.5 W of core power, rising to 2.5 W under heavy DSP loading. The 780-ball FBGA package has a junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (theta_JA) of approximately 12 C/W on a 6-layer JEDEC test board with adequate thermal vias. With 2.5 W dissipation the junction temperature would rise about 30 C above ambient, well within the 85 C commercial limit - but a board-level thermal simulation is still recommended for enclosed industrial housings.
Lay out the 780-ball FBGA with 1.0 mm pitch using microvia-in-pad on the top layer or HDI stacked vias on internal layers; the Cyclone IV E device handbook recommends a 0.5 mm via pad with 0.25 mm drill for 0.2 mm via-in-pad designs. Provide at least one ground plane cutout-free region directly under the BGA for return-current continuity, and stitch all I/O bank VCCIO pins with 0.1 uF + 10 uF capacitance. Match all DDR/DDR2 address/clock traces to within 25 mils and verify impedance with the manufacturer's IBIS model before sign-off.
Do not leave JTAG pins (TCK/TMS/TDI/TDO) floating - the Cyclone IV E device will not enter a deterministic state if any JTAG pin floats, leading to configuration failures. Always include a 10 kohm pull-up on nCONFIG and a 10 kohm pull-up on nSTATUS per the pin connection guidelines. Do not exceed the LVDS TX clock rate of 875 Mbps or the DDR2 top speed of 400 MHz - both will fail timing closure even though Quartus Prime may not flag them clearly. Configuration mode (MSEL) pins must be hard-tied or strapped through 4.7 kohm resistors; do not leave them floating.
Route all global clock inputs (CLK[0..15]) using length-matched, impedance-controlled traces and keep them on the top layer or stripline on layer 3, isolated from switching I/O. Place the 50-ohm termination resistors within 200 mils of the FPGA pin pair. Differential LVDS pairs must be length-matched within 10 mils of each other, with continuous reference ground beneath the traces. The Quartus Prime pin planner will report LVDS channel skews - resolve them in schematic capture before PCB layout freeze.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance per Intel/Altera Cyclone IV E product declaration. 'L' suffix indicates commercial 0-85C junction range; industrial -40 to +100C variants exist as 'I' suffix parts (e.g. EP4CE55F29I8L). AEC-Q100 not applicable as Cyclone IV E is not an automotive-qualified device family.
