EP4CGX150DF27C7 - Cyclone IV GX FPGA 149K LE | Altera | 672-FBGA
MPN: EP4CGX150DF27C7 β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $520.79 | $520.79 |
| 10 | $495.5 | $4,955.00 |
| 100 | $460.2 | $46,020.00 |
| 500 | $425 | $212,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $390 | $390,000.00 |
EP4CGX150DF27C7 Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a type of programmable logic device (PLD) that combines configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, embedded memory, DSP blocks, and (in the GX variants) multi-gigabit transceivers on a single die. FPGAs sit in the semiconductor hierarchy between fixed-function ASICs and software-defined processors: they deliver ASIC-class deterministic latency and parallelism while remaining fully reprogrammable in the field, which makes them ideal for high-volume, cost-sensitive designs that still require hardware-level customization.
The Cyclone IV GX family is engineered for the lowest cost and lowest power in its class, with this -7 commercial speed grade, 1.2 V core operation, and integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers that enable protocols such as PCI Express Gen1, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidIO, and CPRI. The device integrates 720 Kbits of embedded RAM distributed across M9K blocks, 360 18Γ18 hardware multipliers for DSP, and 8 PLLs for clock management - sufficient to implement moderate-complexity signal processing pipelines and protocol bridging.
Architecturally, the EP4CGX150DF27C7 uses an SRAM-based configuration cell, requiring a serial or parallel configuration device (typically an EPCS or EPCQ flash) on the board to load the bitstream at power-up. The 60 nm process is mature, well-characterized, and supported by the Quartus II / Quartus Prime design toolchain, which provides synthesis, place-and-route, timing analysis, and the Qsys system-integration tool for rapid IP assembly.
Typical applications include industrial video processing and machine vision, automotive infotainment and driver-assistance backbones, wireless baseband preprocessing, low-cost protocol bridging (PCIe to Ethernet, CPRI fronthaul), and any cost-sensitive embedded design that needs FPGA-class parallelism without the cost of high-end Stratix devices. Designers typically choose this device when logic density above 100K LE is needed, transceivers are required, and PCB real estate for a 27Γ27 mm BGA is acceptable.
When designing with this device, attention to power integrity is essential: a 1.2 V core rail with tight tolerance (Β±3%) and adequate decoupling (typically 100 Β΅F bulk + multiple 0.1 Β΅F + 10 nF ceramics per rail) must be provided. Thermal management relies on the exposed-die top-side heat-spreader rather than a PCB heatsink; a heatsink, heat pipe, or forced-air cooling is recommended above ~3 W dissipation. Configuration mode, JTAG, and transceiver reference-clock routing should be planned early because PCB rework on a 672-ball FBGA is impractical.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-family alternatives, and practical design considerations not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone, with a focus on engineering trade-offs that matter during component selection and board bring-up.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX150DF27C7 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 EP4CGX150DF27C7 (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Speed Grade, Transceivers, Operating Temperature, Embedded Memory Bits.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX150DF27C6N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$205 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX150DF27C7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$171 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX110DF27C7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$204.2 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX110DF27C7
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$272.5 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX110DF27I7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$198 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX110DF31C7N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$112.4 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX150DF27C7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV GX |
| Logic Elements | 149,760 |
| Total Memory Bits | 6,635,520 |
| Maximum User I/O | 393 |
| Process Technology | 60 nm |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Package | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27 Γ 27 mm |
| Speed Grade | -7 (commercial) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0 Β°C to 85 Β°C) |
| Embedded Memory | 720 Kbits (M9K blocks) |
| Hardware Multipliers | 360 (18 Γ 18) |
| PLLs | 8 |
| Transceivers | Up to 8 channels, 3.125 Gbps |
| Transceiver Protocols | PCIe Gen1, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidIO, CPRI |
| Configuration | SRAM-based (EPCS/EPCQ flash required) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP4CGX150DF27C7 672-ball fbga (f27), 27 Γ 27 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CGX150DF27C7 (672-ball fbga (f27), 27 Γ 27 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 EP4CGX150DF27C7.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CGX150DF27C7 is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Machine Vision, Wireless Baseband Preprocessing, Automotive Infotainment Backbone, PCIe Gen1 Protocol Bridge, Industrial Protocol Conversion, Test and Measurement Front-End.
Industrial Machine Vision
The EP4CGX150DF27C7 is well-suited to industrial machine-vision systems because its 149,760 logic elements and 360 18Γ18 hardware multipliers can host real-time image-processing pipelines (Sobel, Canny, color-space conversion, Bayer demosaic) at typical 720p60 or 1080p30 camera rates. The 720 Kbits of embedded M9K memory serves as line buffers and small frame buffers, while the 3.125 Gbps transceivers drive Camera Link, CoaXPress, or GigE Vision output to a host PC. The commercial 0β85 Β°C temperature grade is acceptable for factory-floor enclosures with filtered air; for harsher environments, the industrial-grade EP4CGX150DF31I7N variant is preferred. Power dissipation at full utilization is around 3β4 W, manageable with a small heatsink on the FBGA top heat-spreader.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband Preprocessing
In wireless baseband and small-cell designs, the EP4CGX150DF27C7 functions as a cost-effective preprocessing engine for CPRI fronthaul, LTE PHY-layer channelization, and digital predistortion (DPD) feedback paths. The integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers handle CPRI option 3 and 4 links directly, eliminating external PHY ICs. The 360 hardware multipliers accelerate FIR filtering, FFT butterflies, and crest-factor reduction (CFR) math; 720 Kbits of block RAM holds intermediate samples. Combined with 8 PLLs for multi-clock domain generation and PCIe Gen1 endpoint support for host connectivity, the device replaces more expensive DSPs in cost-sensitive small cells and remote-radio-head (RRH) designs.
Recommended
Automotive Infotainment Backbone
For automotive infotainment and driver-assistance systems, the EP4CGX150DF27C7 aggregates multiple camera inputs (front, rear, surround-view), performs real-time video stitching and overlay, and outputs a unified LVDS or HDMI stream to the head-unit display. Its 393 user I/O pins accommodate parallel RGB, BT.656, and OpenLDI inputs, while 3.125 Gbps transceivers carry serialized video to remote display panels. Designers targeting -40 Β°C to 100 Β°C must use the industrial-grade EP4CGX150DF31I7N variant instead; the commercial EP4CGX150DF27C7 is only rated 0β85 Β°C and is therefore limited to cabin-cabin use cases. The 60 nm process provides mature AEC-Q100 documentation heritage for similar Cyclone families.
Recommended
PCIe Gen1 Protocol Bridge
The EP4CGX150DF27C7 is a popular PCIe Gen1 endpoint / root-port bridge, exploiting its hard PCIe IP block to implement low-cost Γ1 or Γ4 PCIe endpoints with up to 250 MB/s throughput per lane. Typical bridges include PCIe-to-Gigabit Ethernet (for low-cost NIC designs), PCIe-to-Serial RapidIO (for DSP aggregation), and PCIe-to-Local-Bus / PCIe-to-parallel SRAM adapters used in legacy industrial replacement. The integrated transceivers provide the PCIe PHY, removing the need for external clock-data-recovery (CDR) chips. 149,760 logic elements leave ample room for application-layer state machines, DMA engines, and interrupt controllers alongside the PCIe hard IP.
Recommended
Industrial Protocol Conversion
In factory-automation gateways, the EP4CGX150DF27C7 converts between industrial protocols such as EtherCAT, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, and legacy serial fieldbuses (RS-485, CAN). Its 3.125 Gbps transceivers host EtherCAT or PROFINET IRT master/slave stacks directly, while the 393 I/O pins drive parallel industrial I/O banks (24 V tolerant with external level shifters). The 360 hardware multipliers accelerate any onboard signal-conditioning math. Operating temperature must be observed: the commercial 0β85 Β°C grade covers most factory cabinets with filtered air; for unconditioned environments, the EP4CGX150DF31I7N industrial variant is required. The device's low unit cost at $390/1000 (as of 2026-09-10) supports the cost targets of industrial Ethernet gateways.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Front-End
In bench-top and ATE-style test equipment, the EP4CGX150DF27C7 serves as a flexible pattern-generator and acquisition front-end, with logic elements implementing custom stimulus sequencers, M9K blocks buffering capture samples, and 3.125 Gbps transceivers streaming raw ADC/DAC data to a host processor over PCIe. The 8 PLLs derive all required sampling clocks from a single reference, simplifying clock-tree design. The commercial temperature grade suits laboratory environments; for production-floor testers the industrial EP4CGX150DF31I7N is recommended. Combined with an external high-speed ADC (e.g., 16-bit 250 MSPS) and a small DSP, the device builds a complete low-cost mixed-signal test platform.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX150DF27C7 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX150DF27C6N | EP4CGX150DF27C7N | EP4CGX110DF27C7N | EP4CGX110DF27C7 | EP4CGX110DF27I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm | 672-ball FBGA (F27), 27Γ27 mm |
| Family | Cyclone IV GX | Cyclone IV GX | Cyclone IV GX | Cyclone IV GX | Cyclone IV GX | Cyclone IV GX |
| Logic Elements | 149,760 | 149,760 | 149,760 | 109,424 | 109,424 | 109,424 |
| Memory Bits | 6,635,520 | 6,635,520 | 6,635,520 | 4,534,272 | 4,534,272 | 4,534,272 |
| Maximum User I/O | 393 | 393 | 393 | 393 | 393 | 393 |
| Speed Grade | -7 (commercial) | -6 (slower) | -7 (commercial) | -7 (commercial) | -7 (commercial) | -7 (industrial) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C | Commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C | Commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C | Commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C | Commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C | Industrial -40 Β°C to 100 Β°C |
| Lead-Free Finish | No (standard SnPb) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) | Yes (Pb-free) | No | Yes (Pb-free) |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic density in the Cyclone IV GX family at 149,760 LE (vs EP4CGX110DF27C7N)
- Faster -7 speed grade than the -6 variant (vs EP4CGX150DF27C6N)
- Commercial temperature range for cost-sensitive applications (vs EP4CGX110DF27I7N)
- Larger 672-ball F27 package vs smaller 256-ball F23 (vs EP4CGX150CF23C7N)
Design Notes
The EP4CGX150DF27C7 requires multiple power rails per the Cyclone IV Device Handbook: VCCINT = 1.2 V Β±5% core, VCCA = 2.5 V PLL analog, VCCD_PLL = 1.2 V PLL digital, VCCIO per I/O bank (1.2 / 1.5 / 1.8 / 2.5 / 3.0 / 3.3 V), and separate VCCCHIP_L / VCCCHIP_R for the 8 transceiver channels. Power-up sequencing requires VCCINT to ramp before VCCIO to prevent I/O latch-up; use a power-supply supervisor with PG (power-good) output to gate the VCCIO enable. Bulk capacitance of 100 Β΅F + 10 Β΅F + 0.1 Β΅F per rail is recommended, with additional 10 nF high-frequency bypass near each ball-pair.
Power dissipation for a fully-utilized Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX150 typically ranges from 2.5 W (low-utilization) to 4.5 W (full transceivers + DSP), per Cyclone IV GX power-play estimation. The 672-ball FBGA package relies on a top-side exposed die for heat transfer; attach a small heatsink (e.g., 20Γ20Γ10 mm aluminum with thermal pad) using a 0.15 mm thermal interface material. Without active cooling, junction temperature in a still-air enclosure may exceed 100 Β°C under sustained transceiver traffic; use the Quartus PowerPlay tool to estimate ΞΈJA and TJ for your specific design before committing to a thermal solution.
PCB layout for the 672-ball F27 FBGA at 1.0 mm ball pitch requires a minimum of 6 PCB layers (signal / GND / VCC / signal / signal / GND) and microvia / via-in-pad technology for the BGA break-out. Escape routing must use 50 Ξ© controlled impedance for all high-speed signal pairs (transceivers, external memory interfaces). Place the EPCS/EPCQ configuration flash within 25 mm of the FPGA to keep the AS (Active Serial) data and DCLK traces short and impedance-matched. Provide a 4-pin JTAG header (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO with proper pull-ups) for factory programming and in-field updates. A 100-ohm differential reference-clock source is mandatory for each transceiver quad.
Common pitfalls when designing with the EP4CGX150DF27C7 include: (1) confusing the 'DF27' (672-ball F27 package, 27Γ27 mm) with the 'CF23' (256-ball F23 package, 23Γ23 mm) - they are NOT pin-compatible despite similar family naming; (2) forgetting that the 'C7' suffix denotes commercial temperature grade - for industrial designs the 'I7' variant is required; (3) attempting to JTAG-chain the FPGA with non-Altera devices using 3.3 V TCK levels - Cyclone IV expects 2.5 V or 1.8 V TCK; (4) underestimating configuration time - large bitstreams (>20 Mbit) take >100 ms to load from EPCS, requiring careful reset and ready-signal timing for downstream logic; (5) mixing VCCIO voltages across I/O banks that share the same VREF - each bank is independent, so verify with the pin planner before PCB finalization.
Compliance Information
Standard EP4CGX150DF27C7 ordering code uses SnPb terminal finish; for lead-free RoHS-compliant variant, order EP4CGX150DF27C7N (with 'N' suffix). Not AEC-Q100 qualified - for AEC-Q100 designs use the industrial-grade EP4CGX150CF23I7N variant in the smaller F23 package. RoHS and REACH compliance are confirmed by Altera/Intel product page documentation as of 2026-09-10.
