EP4CGX150DF31I7N - Cyclone IV GX FPGA, 149760 LE, 8x Transceivers | Intel
MPN: EP4CGX150DF31I7N β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $425 | $425.00 |
| 10 | $395 | $3,950.00 |
| 100 | $348 | $34,800.00 |
| 250 | $312 | $78,000.00 |
| 500 | $285 | $142,500.00 |
EP4CGX150DF31I7N Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device containing an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), programmable interconnect, and dedicated hard IP blocks such as transceivers, PLLs, and embedded memory. FPGAs sit between general-purpose microcontrollers and ASICs in the design hierarchy, offering ASIC-class performance with the flexibility of software-reprogrammable logic. Cyclone IV devices specifically target applications that previously used ASICs but require lower NRE costs, faster time-to-market, and lower static power than earlier-generation FPGAs.
Key features include eight full-duplex 3.125 Gbps transceivers (C4 speed grade) supporting PCIe Gen1, Gbps Ethernet, and Serial RapidIO; two hard PCI Express Gen1 controllers; up to 475 user I/O with support for LVDS, LVTTL, LVPECL, SSTL, and HSTL I/O standards; and 6.48 Mbits of embedded RAM configurable as true dual-port, simple dual-port, or single-port memory blocks. The device operates from a 1.2V core supply and supports industrial temperature range (-40C to +100C) with the I7 speed grade.
The Cyclone IV GX architecture combines an FPGA fabric with hard PHY blocks for high-speed serial I/O, eliminating the need for external SerDes chips. The transceiver blocks include transmit pre-emphasis and receive equalization to maintain signal integrity over backplanes and longer PCB traces. Hard PCI Express Gen1 controllers simplify endpoint and root-port designs by offloading the PCIe PHY and data link layer from soft logic, freeing fabric resources for the application layer.
Typical applications include industrial motor control and machine vision, broadcast video processing and pro-AV interfaces, low-cost wireless backhaul with Serial RapidIO, PCI Express endpoint cards for data acquisition, software-defined radio front ends, and automotive driver-assistance prototyping where low power and serial bandwidth matter most. The Cyclone IV GX family is well suited for high-volume production where a Stratix-class FPGA would be over-budget.
When designing with this part, plan power sequencing for the 1.2V core, 2.5V/3.3V I/O, and transceiver analog supplies carefully; mis-sequenced supplies can latch-up the device. The 896-ball FBGA package requires 1.0mm ball pitch and multi-layer PCB stack-up with via-in-pad or dog-bone fan-outs for signal escape. Use Quartus Prime design software for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure.
This page synthesizes distributor inventory, pin-compatible Cyclone IV GX variants, and Quartus Prime design considerations that go beyond the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX150DF31I7N 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 EP4CGX150DF31I7N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Speed Grade, RoHS Status, Logic Array Blocks (LABs).
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX150DF31I7
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View Datasheet βEP4CGX150DF31I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV GX |
| Logic Elements | 149760 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 9360 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 6635520 |
| Embedded Multiplier Blocks (18x18) | 720 |
| User I/O | 475 |
| Transceivers | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) |
| PCIe Hard Controllers | 2 (Gen1) |
| PLLs | 4 |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +100C (Industrial) |
| Speed Grade | I7 |
| Package | 896-ball FBGA (DF31), 31x31 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Process Technology | 60 nm |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (lead-free) |
EP4CGX150DF31I7N 896-ball fbga (df31), 31x31 mm, 1.0 mm pitch Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CGX150DF31I7N (896-ball fbga (df31), 31x31 mm, 1.0 mm pitch 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 EP4CGX150DF31I7N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CGX150DF31I7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Machine Vision and Image Processing, PCI Express Endpoint Cards and Data Acquisition, Wireless Baseband and Software-Defined Radio, Broadcast Video Processing and Pro-AV, Industrial Motor Control and Drive Interfaces, Automotive Driver-Assistance Prototyping.
Industrial Machine Vision and Image Processing
The EP4CGX150DF31I7N is well-suited for industrial machine vision systems that need parallel processing of high-resolution camera streams. With 720 18x18 multipliers, the FPGA can accelerate convolution kernels, edge detection, and color-space conversion for multi-camera linescan or area-scan inspection. The 6.63 Mbits of embedded RAM buffers line buffers and frame buffers without external SRAM, while the 475 user I/O pins support parallel LVDS camera interfaces (Cameralink base/medium). The I7 industrial temperature grade (-40C to +100C) ensures operation in unconditioned factory environments where consumer-grade FPGAs would fail. Designers typically use the hard PCIe Gen1 controller to deliver processed images to a host PC, with the 3.125 Gbps transceivers handling either PCIe or a Gbps Ethernet link to upstream processing nodes.
Recommended
PCI Express Endpoint Cards and Data Acquisition
The EP4CGX150DF31I7N integrates two hard PCI Express Gen1 controllers, making it ideal for low-cost PCIe endpoint cards used in test-and-measurement, data acquisition, and DSP accelerator boards. The hard PHY and data-link layer free FPGA fabric for the application layer - typically DMA engines, custom bus protocols, or on-card preprocessing - while the 3.125 Gbps transceivers deliver PCIe x1/x2/x4 lanes. The 149760 logic elements and 720 multipliers handle 100+ MSPS ADC data streams, and 6.63 Mbits of embedded RAM provides FIFO buffering between the ADC domain and the PCIe DMA engine. Engineers commonly use this part for digitizer cards, software-radio receivers, and protocol analyzer cards where the low-power Cyclone IV GX outperforms legacy PCI bridge chipsets.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband and Software-Defined Radio
The EP4CGX150DF31I7N's 8 transceivers and 3.125 Gbps line rate make it a strong fit for software-defined radio (SDR) baseband cards, small-cell base stations, and wireless backhaul modems. The hard transceivers support CPRI/OBSAI rates up to 3.072 Gbps for connecting to remote radio heads, and Serial RapidIO links for inter-board communication in base-station chassis. The 720 18x18 multipliers accelerate channelization, FFT/iFFT kernels, and digital up/down conversion (DUC/DDC) for LTE and WiMAX waveforms. Industrial temperature grade and low static power make this Cyclone IV GX suitable for outdoor small-cell enclosures and tower-mounted radios where conventional ASIC solutions lack reprogrammability.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing and Pro-AV
The EP4CGX150DF31I7N supports professional broadcast video standards including SDI, HDMI, and DisplayPort through its multi-gigabit transceivers. The FPGA fabric can implement scaling, deinterlacing, color correction, and genlocking for broadcast routing switches and production switchers. 475 user I/O pins support parallel BT.656/BT.1120 video buses alongside the serial SDI streams, and 6.63 Mbits of embedded RAM provides line and frame buffers for video pipeline stages. Cyclone IV GX is widely used in pro-AV extenders, video-wall controllers, and LED display processors where low power and integrated transceivers eliminate external serializers.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control and Drive Interfaces
Industrial servo drives and variable-frequency motor controllers benefit from the EP4CGX150DF31I7N's combination of 475 user I/O for parallel encoder feedback channels, high-speed transceivers for EtherCAT or SERCOS fieldbus, and DSP-rich fabric for field-oriented control (FOC) algorithms. The 720 dedicated 18x18 multipliers accelerate Park/Clarke transforms and space-vector PWM generation, while 6.63 Mbits of embedded RAM supports multi-axis position-loop state machines. The industrial temperature range and Cyclone IV GX's reputation for reliable long-life-cycle production make it a popular choice for high-volume servo drives where FPGAs replace DSP processors to reduce bill of materials.
Recommended
Automotive Driver-Assistance Prototyping
For pre-production automotive driver-assistance systems (ADAS), the EP4CGX150DF31I7N offers enough logic, multipliers, and serial bandwidth to prototype multi-sensor fusion designs combining radar, lidar, and camera feeds. The hard PCIe controllers simplify connection to host SoCs, while the transceivers handle automotive Ethernet (100/1000BASE-T1) and SerDes-based radar interfaces. Although the I7 grade is industrial (-40 to +100C) rather than full automotive AEC-Q100, the part is widely used for ADAS bench testing and pre-production validation where its reprogrammability allows rapid iteration of sensor-fusion algorithms before committing to an ASIC tape-out.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX150DF31I7N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX150DF31I7 | EP4CGX150DF31C8N | EP4CGX150DF31C7N | EP4CGX110DF31I7N | EP4CGX110DF31I7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 896-ball FBGA (F31) | 896-ball FBGA (F31) - same | 896-ball FBGA (F31) - same | 896-ball FBGA (F31) - same | 896-ball FBGA (F31) - same | 896-ball FBGA (F31) - same |
| Logic Elements | 149760 | 149760 | 149760 | 149760 | 109424 (-27%) | 109424 (-27%) |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 6635520 | 6635520 | 6635520 | 6635520 | 4838400 (-27%) | 4838400 (-27%) |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 720 | 720 | 720 | 720 | 540 (-25%) | 540 (-25%) |
| Transceivers | 8 (3.125 Gbps) | 8 (3.125 Gbps) | 8 (3.125 Gbps) | 8 (3.125 Gbps) | 8 (3.125 Gbps) | 8 (3.125 Gbps) |
| User I/O | 475 | 475 | 475 | 475 | 475 | 475 |
| Temperature Range | -40C to +100C (Industrial) | -40C to +100C (Industrial) | 0C to +85C (Commercial) | 0C to +85C (Commercial) | -40C to +100C (Industrial) | -40C to +100C (Industrial) |
| Speed Grade | I7 | I7 | C8 | C7 | I7 | I7 |
Key Differentiators
- Highest logic density in Cyclone IV GX family (vs EP4CGX110DF31I7N)
- Industrial temperature grade vs commercial-only (vs EP4CGX150DF31C8N)
- Highest transceiver count with 8 channels at 3.125 Gbps (vs EP4CE115F29C8N (Cyclone IV E))
Design Notes
The Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX150DF31I7N requires multiple supply rails: VCCINT (1.2V core), VCCA (2.5V PLL analog), VCCD_PLL (1.2V PLL digital), VCCIO (1.2V-3.3V I/O banks), and VCCCHIP/L (1.2V transceiver analog). According to Altera's Cyclone IV GX power app note, all rails must be powered up within 100ms of each other or damage can occur. Use a sequencing controller such as the LTC2923 or use Intel's PowerPlay tool to validate ramp order. The transceiver analog supply (VCCCHIP/L) is the most sensitive - filter it with a ferrite bead and decouple with 10uF/0.1uF pairs as close as possible to the balls.
The 896-ball FBGA uses 1.0mm ball pitch - escape routing requires microvia or via-in-pad technology on at least the top two PCB layers. According to Altera's Cyclone IV GX Hardware Reference, all balls should be fanned out using 0.2mm (8 mil) traces on the top layer, with dog-bone fan-out to vias on layer 2. Use a 12-layer stackup with dedicated ground planes above and below all signal layers to control impedance. Maintain 100-ohm differential impedance for transceiver pairs and 50-ohm single-ended for general I/O. The thermal pad (if exposed on the package bottom) needs thermal vias to an internal copper pour for heat dissipation.
Transceiver channel performance at 3.125 Gbps requires strict PCB layout discipline. Reference Altera's Cyclone IV GX Transceiver User Guide for trace length matching: within a transceiver bank, length mismatch must be <150 mil for TX and <50 mil for RX pairs. Use AC-coupled coupling capacitors (typically 100nF X7R) on each serial lane, placed within 1 inch of the FPGA balls. For PCIe Gen1 operation, route TX/RX pairs as 85-100 ohm differential with reference planes uninterrupted under the entire length. Use IBIS-AMI simulations in Quartus Prime before fabrication to validate eye margins.
Do not power up the transceiver analog supply before the 1.2V core supply - the absolute maximum voltage sequencing requirement is VCCINT before VCCCHIP/L. According to Altera's Cyclone IV errata sheet, reverse sequencing can permanently damage the transceiver blocks. Also, do not leave unused transceiver channels floating - tie each unused TX pin through its AC cap to ground and leave the RX pin open as documented in the pin connection guidelines. Finally, ensure MSL 3 handling compliance - the FBGA balls are moisture-sensitive and require dry-pack bake-out before reflow.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliance per Altera product page. I7 speed grade is industrial (-40 to +100C), not AEC-Q100 qualified; automotive applications require additional qualification testing by the user.
