EP4CGX22BF14C7N - Cyclone IV GX 22K FPGA, 169-LBGA | Intel
MPN: EP4CGX22BF14C7N β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $56.4 | $56.40 |
| 10 | $50.76 | $507.60 |
| 100 | $45.12 | $4,512.00 |
| 250 | $42.3 | $10,575.00 |
| 500 | $39.48 | $19,740.00 |
EP4CGX22BF14C7N Overview
A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a programmable logic device that lets engineers implement arbitrary digital circuits through configurable logic blocks (LBs), embedded memory, DSP blocks, and programmable interconnect. Within the broader taxonomy, the EP4CGX22BF14C7N sits at the intersection of programmable logic, low-power 60 nm silicon, and serial connectivity - the Cyclone IV GX family specifically integrates up to 3.125 Gbps transceivers, distinguishing it from the transceiver-less Cyclone IV E. FPGAs belong to the broader category of application-specific standard products (ASSP) and are foundational building blocks in the semiconductor hierarchy alongside microcontrollers, ASICs, and ASSPs.
The Cyclone IV GX family is built on TSMC's 60 nm low-power process, delivering a balanced trade-off between logic density, static power, and cost. The 169-pin LBGA package supports 169 user I/O pins (including 4 transceiver channels), giving the EP4CGX22 enough I/O bandwidth for video bridging, industrial control, and protocol bridging without forcing a larger, more expensive package. The -C7 speed grade positions it in the mid-performance tier, suitable for designs that do not require the maximum possible Fmax but benefit from the lower cost of slower-speed parts.
Typical applications include industrial machine vision, video format conversion, industrial Ethernet bridges, motor-control co-processors, and low-density serial-protocol bridges (PCIe Gen1, GigE, Serial RapidIO). The integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers make the EP4CGX22 particularly attractive for designs that need one or two high-speed serial links without the overhead of a larger, more power-hungry FPGA family.
When designing with this device, pay close attention to the device variant suffix (C7 = commercial, speed grade 7; C8 = commercial speed grade 8, slower; I7 = industrial speed grade 7). Pin-compatible speed-grade variants allow easy speed/operating-temperature trade-offs without re-laying out the PCB. This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-package alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer datasheet alone.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX22BF14C7N 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 EP4CGX22BF14C7N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Transceivers, Operating Temperature, Process Technology, PLLs.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX22BF14C8N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX22BF14C6N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$42.14 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX22BF14C7
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$23.6 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX22BF14C6
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$17.9 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX22BF14I7N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$45.9 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX22BF14C7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV GX |
| Logic Elements | 21,280 |
| Embedded Memory | 774,144 bits |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 72 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 1,330 |
| Maximum User I/O | 72 (Cyclone IV GX 22K F14 variant) |
| Transceivers | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps per channel |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Process Technology | 60 nm (TSMC low-power) |
| Package | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169), 14 mm x 14 mm, F14 outline |
| Speed Grade | C7 (commercial, -7 speed) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Configuration Scheme | JTAG / Active Serial / Passive Serial (Altera standard) |
EP4CGX22BF14C7N 169-lbga (fbga-169), 14 mm x 14 mm, f14 outline Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CGX22BF14C7N (169-lbga (fbga-169), 14 mm x 14 mm, f14 outline 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 EP4CGX22BF14C7N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CGX22BF14C7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Machine Vision Bridges, Video Format Converters, Industrial Ethernet / Profinet Bridges, Motor Control Co-Processors, Low-Density PCIe Gen1 Endpoint Cards, Portable Test & Measurement Instruments.
Industrial Machine Vision Bridges
The EP4CGX22BF14C7N is well-suited to industrial machine-vision bridging because its 4 integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers handle Camera Link, CoaXPress, and GigE Vision serial streams without external PHY chips. The 21,280 logic elements are sufficient for image preprocessing pipelines (debayer, gamma correction, ROI extraction) while 774 Kbits of embedded memory buffers line-scan data at high frame rates. Per the Cyclone IV GX handbook, the F14 package exposes enough LVDS pairs for parallel image-sensor interfaces. Pair with TFP401A HDMI receiver and Aptina MT9P031 image sensor for a complete vision pipeline.
Recommended
Video Format Converters
Use the EP4CGX22BF14C7N as the heart of a video format converter (HDMI to SDI, DisplayPort to LVDS) by leveraging the on-chip transceivers for SDI output at 2.97 Gbps and the LVDS I/O for panel interfacing. The 72 DSP blocks provide line-rate scaling and color-space conversion throughput, while 774 Kbits of RAM holds horizontal scaling line buffers. Quartus Prime reference designs demonstrate full SD/HD/3G-SDI passthrough on this exact part. Power dissipation at typical 1080p60 scaling loads stays under 1.5 W with all four transceivers active.
Recommended
Industrial Ethernet / Profinet Bridges
The EP4CGX22BF14C7N can host Profinet IRT, EtherCAT, or SERCOS III slave stacks on its 60 nm logic fabric, with the 4 transceivers supporting 100 Mbit industrial Ethernet PHYs at full duplex. The -C7 speed grade closes timing at 100 MHz internal fabric clock, sufficient for real-time deterministic industrial Ethernet. According to the Cyclone IV GX datasheet, the device supports soft-core Nios II processors for higher-layer protocol handling. Pair with TI DP83848 PHY and WΓΌrth RJ45 transformer for a robust industrial node.
Recommended
Motor Control Co-Processors
Deploy the EP4CGX22BF14C7N as a co-processor for multi-axis servo drives where the 72 hardware 18x18 multipliers execute field-oriented control (FOC) loops and space-vector PWM at 50 kHz per axis. The integrated transceivers accept digital encoder feedback (EnDat 2.2, BiSS, SSI) at 4 MHz serial rates without external logic, and the 169-ball BGA exposes enough PWM/ADC-sync I/O for a 6-axis drive. The -C7 speed grade is ideal for cycle-bound DSP at sub-microsecond latency. Pair with TI TMS320F28335 DSP host and Infineon IRAMS10UP60B power module.
Recommended
Low-Density PCIe Gen1 Endpoint Cards
Implement a PCIe Gen1 x1 endpoint on the EP4CGX22BF14C7N using one of its 4 built-in transceivers, supporting 2.5 Gbps link rate with the Cyclone IV GX hard IP block. The remaining transceivers can drive secondary links to companion ASICs or high-speed ADCs. With 21,280 logic elements, the device comfortably fits lightweight DMA engines, custom driver interfaces, and protocol-aware bridges. The F14 169-LBGA package keeps the card small enough for low-profile PCIe cards. Pair with TI XIO1100 PCIe x1 repeater for fanout designs.
Recommended
Portable Test & Measurement Instruments
Use the EP4CGX22BF14C7N as the main processing FPGA in portable logic analyzers, protocol exercisers, or handheld oscilloscopes where 4 transceivers drive high-speed probe channels at up to 3.125 Gbps. The 1.2 V core supply keeps total power draw around 1 W even with all 4 transceivers active, extending battery runtime. The 169-LBGA F14 outline is small enough for handheld form factors, and the commercial temperature range (0-85C) covers typical lab environments. Pair with TI ADS54J60 ADC and FTDI FT232H USB interface for a complete test platform.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX22BF14C7N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX22BF14C8N | EP4CGX22BF14C6N | EP4CGX22BF14C7 | EP4CGX22BF14C6 | EP4CGX22BF14I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) - same | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) - same | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) - same | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) - same | 169-LBGA (FBGA-169, F14, 14x14mm) - same |
| Logic Elements | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 |
| Speed Grade | -7 (C7) | -8 (C8, slower) | -6 (C6, faster) | -7 (C7) | -6 (C6, faster) | -7 (I7 industrial temp) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C | -40C to +100C (industrial) |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Transceivers | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps | Up to 4 channels, 3.125 Gbps |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V | 1.2 V |
| Lead-Free Marking | Yes (N suffix) | Yes (N) | Yes (N) | No (legacy, no N) | No (legacy, no N) | Yes (N) |
Key Differentiators
- Mid-tier speed grade offering best balance of cost and Fmax (vs EP4CGX22BF14C6N)
- Commercial temperature range suited for lab and indoor industrial use (vs EP4CGX22BF14I7N)
- Lead-free (RoHS-compliant) marking with N suffix (vs EP4CGX22BF14C7)
Design Notes
The Cyclone IV GX EP4CGX22 requires a 1.2 V core rail, 2.5 V analog PLL rail, and a separate 1.2 V / 2.5 V transceiver (VCCH_GXB) supply. Use a 4-layer PCB with a dedicated ground plane to keep the analog and digital returns clean. Per the Cyclone IV GX handbook, decouple each power pin with 0.1 uF + 10 uF ceramic capacitors placed within 100 mils of the respective ball. Bulk decoupling (47 uF tantalum or 100 uF polymer) on the 1.2 V rail prevents droop during simultaneous switching of multiple transceiver channels.
The 169-LBGA F14 package uses a 1.0 mm ball pitch - signal escape routing requires either microvia (laser-drilled) HDI PCB technology or via-in-pad designs for fanout under the BGA. Estimate: at least 4 PCB layers are needed to route 4 transceiver lanes plus 72 user I/O without congestion. Use differential pair routing with 100 ohm impedance for all transceiver lanes, length-matched to within 5 mils per pair to meet the 3.125 Gbps signal-integrity budget.
Do not confuse the EP4CGX22 (Cyclone IV GX, with transceivers) with the EP4CE22 (Cyclone IV E, without transceivers) - the pinouts differ even when both use the same F14 package outline. Also note that the F14 169-LBGA package is distinct from the F169 169-LBGA outline used by larger Cyclone IV E parts; the F14 has fewer user I/O (72) and a different ball map. Reference the device handbook chapter on package information to confirm ball mapping before laying out the PCB.
Cyclone IV GX transceivers require AC coupling on all serial lanes - place 0.01 uF 0402-size AC-coupling capacitors within 200 mils of the transmitter P/N balls. Reference-clock inputs (REFCLK) require a low-jitter clock source with phase noise better than -100 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset to meet the 3.125 Gbps jitter budget. Per Intel design guidelines, route REFCLK as a 100 ohm differential pair and isolate it from noisy digital signals with a guard ground trace.
Keep the JTAG chain (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO, TRST) on a separate signal layer from the transceivers, with pull-up resistors (10 kohm) on TCK, TMS, TDI, and TRST per IEEE 1149.1. Place the 2.5 V VCCA_PLL pin ferrite-bead isolated from the 2.5 V digital supply, since PLL analog supply noise directly multiplies into clock jitter. Ensure the nCONFIG and nSTATUS pins have 10 kohm pull-ups to 3.3 V for proper configuration.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliance per Intel product page. N suffix in part number confirms lead-free termination. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is a commercial FPGA, not an automotive-grade part. For automotive applications, Intel offers Cyclone IV GX automotive-grade variants (EP4CGX22AF14) which require separate qualification.
