EP4CGX22BF14I7N - 22K LE Cyclone IV GX FPGA, 169-LBGA | Intel (Altera)
MPN: EP4CGX22BF14I7N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $68.74 | $68.74 |
| 10 | $64.5 | $645.00 |
| 100 | $58.2 | $5,820.00 |
| 500 | $51.75 | $25,875.00 |
| 1,000 | $45.9 | $45,900.00 |
EP4CGX22BF14I7N Overview
A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a reconfigurable semiconductor device built from an array of programmable logic blocks, embedded memory, routing interconnects, and optional hard IP cores (transceivers, PLLs, multipliers, processors). Within the broader taxonomy FPGAs sit between microcontrollers and ASICs: like a microcontroller they are reprogrammable in-system, but unlike a microcontroller they achieve ASIC-class parallelism and throughput. The Cyclone IV GX family is positioned as a low-cost, low-power member of Intel's (formerly Altera's) FPGA lineup, targeting applications that need integrated transceivers and DSP blocks but do not require the higher logic density of the Stratix family.
Key features include 21,280 logic elements, 594 kbits of embedded RAM, up to 80 embedded 18×18 multipliers, four general-purpose PLLs, two 3.125 Gbps multi-gigabit transceivers, and a 1.2 V core supply with hot-socketing and power-on-reset support. The -I7 speed grade is a commercial industrial speed/temperature grade rated for -40 °C to +100 °C ambient operation, and the F14 package code denotes a 169-pin FineLine BGA with 1.0 mm ball pitch for compact board layouts.
Architecturally the EP4CGX22BF14I7N is built on a 60 nm process and uses an SRAM-based configuration cell that must be loaded from an external flash at every power-up. The device supports serial (AS) and parallel (AP) configuration modes from Altera/Intel EPCS or compatible flash, and exposes JTAG for in-system programming and debug via SignalTap or external tools.
Typical applications include industrial control and motor-drive interfaces, low-cost video and image-processing pipelines, PCIe endpoint bridges, communications line cards, and prototyping or pre-silicon ASIC validation platforms. Its transceiver-based serial bandwidth also makes it useful for proprietary point-to-point links, low-port-count switches, and protocol-conversion adapters.
Designers should plan for an external configuration PROM, decoupling for every VCC/VCCPGM/VCCA/VCCD_PLL rail, and FPGA-aware PCB layout rules (matched-length differential pairs for LVDS or transceiver channels, keep-out regions under the BGA, and stitched ground vias). Intel Quartus II or Intel Quartus Prime is required for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure.
This page synthesizes Cyclone IV GX family specifications, distributor pricing, drop-in same-package alternatives, and practical FPGA design notes not consolidated in a single datasheet chapter.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX22BF14I7N — 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 EP4CGX22BF14I7N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Process Technology, Operating Temperature, Transceivers, Embedded 18x18 Multipliers.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX22BF14I7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$39.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX22BF14C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$21.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX22BF14C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$39.48 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX15BF14I7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$23.1 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX15CF23C7
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$54.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX22BF14I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Cyclone IV GX |
| Device | EP4CGX22 |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 21,280 |
| Logic Blocks | 47 (per digchip datasheet summary) |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 774,144 (594 Kbits) |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 72 |
| PLLs | 4 (general-purpose) |
| Transceivers | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| Operating Temperature | -40 °C to +100 °C (industrial, 'I7N' speed/temp grade) |
| Package | 169-LBGA (FineLine BGA, F14, 14×14 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) |
| Process Technology | 60 nm |
| Configuration | SRAM, serial (AS) and parallel (AP) modes, JTAG |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (per distributor listings) |
EP4CGX22BF14I7N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | VCCIO1 — I/O bank 1 supply voltage |
| Pin A14 | VCCIO8 — I/O bank 8 supply voltage |
| Pin B7 | GXB_TX0_p — Transceiver 0 transmit positive |
| Pin B8 | GXB_TX0_n — Transceiver 0 transmit negative |
| Pin C10 | GXB_RX0_p — Transceiver 0 receive positive |
| Pin C11 | GXB_RX0_n — Transceiver 0 receive negative |
| Pin D5 | CLK1 — Clock input 1 (PLL reference) |
| Pin F6 | VCCA — PLL analog supply |
| Pin G3 | VCCINT — Core supply voltage (1.2 V) |
| Pin H12 | GND — Ground |
| Pin J5 | TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin J6 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin J7 | TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin J8 | TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin K4 | MSEL0 — Configuration mode select 0 |
| Pin K5 | MSEL1 — Configuration mode select 1 |
| Pin K6 | MSEL2 — Configuration mode select 2 |
| Pin K7 | nCONFIG — Configuration start (active low) |
| Pin L8 | nSTATUS — Configuration status (active low) |
| Pin L9 | DCLK — Configuration clock |
Typical Applications
EP4CGX22BF14I7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Motor Control & Drive Interfaces, Low-Cost PCIe Endpoint & Adapter Cards, Communications Line Card & Protocol Converter, Video & Image Processing Pipelines, ASIC Prototyping & Pre-Silicon Validation, Aerospace & UAV Telemetry Links.
Industrial Motor Control & Drive Interfaces
The EP4CGX22BF14I7N is well suited to multi-axis industrial motor drives because it pairs 21,280 logic elements with embedded 18×18 multipliers and the Cyclone IV GX DSP blocks needed for field-oriented control (FOC) loops. Its two 3.125 Gbps transceivers can host a high-noise-immune encoder feedback channel (EnDat 2.2, BiSS, or proprietary serial) alongside a real-time EtherCAT or PROFINET communication link. The industrial -40 °C to +100 °C ambient rating and hot-socketing support allow the same FPGA to drop onto the same PCB used in factory-floor controllers, where exposure to heatsink leakage, ESD strikes, and brown-out power events is common. Compared with a discrete MCU plus external PHY design, this single-chip solution reduces BOM and PCBA area while keeping the FPGA's reconfigurability to support last-minute motor tuning algorithms.
Recommended
Low-Cost PCIe Endpoint & Adapter Cards
With two integrated 3.125 Gbps multi-gigabit transceivers and the Cyclone IV GX PCIe hard IP, the EP4CGX22BF14I7N can implement a single-lane PCIe Gen1 endpoint without an external PHY. Designers can map a PCIe soft controller into the FPGA fabric to expose DMA engines, register interfaces, or custom accelerators to a host CPU. Its 169-ball BGA and 72 user I/O allow companion I/O such as USB 3.0, SATA, or front-panel LEDs to share the same board. Compared with an ASSP PCIe switch, this approach is attractive for prototype and low-volume adapter cards that need a custom logic layer alongside the bus interface.
Recommended
Communications Line Card & Protocol Converter
The EP4CGX22BF14I7N can act as a low-port-count line card handling serial protocols such as CPRI, OBSAI, JESD204B, or proprietary point-to-point links thanks to its multi-gigabit transceivers. The 21,280 LEs and 594 Kbits of RAM allow designers to bridge between different framer/PHY chips, perform rate adaptation, or implement channel bonding. The Cyclone IV GX power-optimized architecture keeps line-card thermal budgets manageable in dense, fan-cooled enclosures. The BGA package's 1.0 mm ball pitch keeps the line card footprint compact, allowing multiple FPGAs to be tiled on one PCB for higher channel counts.
Recommended
Video & Image Processing Pipelines
The EP4CGX22BF14I7N's 594 Kbits of embedded memory and embedded 18×18 multipliers support real-time video processing pipelines for up to two streams of 1080p60 video, including scaling, color-space conversion, and basic filtering. Designers can drive HDMI, DVI, MIPI CSI-2 (via external bridge), or LVDS panels using the 72 user I/O pins. Compared with a dedicated video ASSP, the FPGA approach lets the OEM differentiate through proprietary processing and keep the same hardware across product variants. The -I7N industrial temperature grade supports deployment in kiosks, medical imaging carts, and digital signage where ambient temperatures are higher than typical office environments.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping & Pre-Silicon Validation
The Cyclone IV GX family is widely used as a multi-FPGA ASIC prototyping platform because it offers abundant transceivers, embedded memory, and DSP blocks for pre-silicon validation of larger SoC designs. Two EP4CGX22BF14I7N devices can be tiled on a single prototyping board to emulate a multi-million-gate SoC. The 169-ball BGA supports standard pin-header sockets used in FPGA prototyping cages, allowing fast iteration. Designers can validate firmware drivers, protocol stacks, and power-management flows months before tape-out, dramatically reducing SoC risk.
Recommended
Aerospace & UAV Telemetry Links
The EP4CGX22BF14I7N's industrial temperature grade, low power consumption, and integrated transceivers make it a fit for UAV and small-aircraft telemetry links. The FPGA can implement a custom spread-spectrum or OFDM downlink, compress telemetry frames, and drive an RF front-end through the 3.125 Gbps serial I/O. Compared with a microcontroller-based telemetry modem, the FPGA approach enables higher channel bandwidth and software-defined-radio flexibility within a small airframe. Hot-socketing support also simplifies maintenance on fielded UAVs.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX22BF14I7N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX22BF14I7 | EP4CGX22BF14C8N | EP4CGX22BF14C7N | EP4CGX15BF14I7N | EP4CGX15CF23C7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Package | 169-LBGA (F14, 14x14 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) | 169-LBGA (F14) - same | 169-LBGA (F14) - same | 169-LBGA (F14) - same | 169-LBGA (F14) - same | 169-LBGA (F14) - same |
| Logic Elements | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 | 21,280 | 14,400 | 14,400 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 | 774,144 | 504,576 | 504,576 |
| Maximum User I/O | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Transceivers | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 2 (up to 3.125 Gbps) |
| Speed/Temp Grade | I7N (industrial, -40C to +100C, fastest speed) | I7 (industrial) | C8N (commercial 0-85C, -1 speed) | C7N (commercial 0-85C, -2 speed) | I7N (industrial, smaller die) | C7 (commercial, F23 pkg, smaller die) |
| Process Technology | 60 nm | 60 nm | 60 nm | 60 nm | 60 nm | 60 nm |
| Configuration Flash Required | Yes (EPCS or compatible AS flash) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RoHS Compliance | Compliant | Compliant | Compliant | Compliant | Compliant | Compliant |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-density 169-ball Cyclone IV GX at the fastest industrial speed grade (vs EP4CGX15BF14I7N)
- Industrial temperature range with fastest speed grade (vs EP4CGX22BF14C8N)
- Integrated multi-gigabit transceivers in a low-cost Cyclone IV GX package (vs EP4CE55F23I7N (Cyclone IV E))
Design Notes
The EP4CGX22BF14I7N requires five distinct power rails: VCCINT (1.2 V core), VCCIO (1.2 V to 3.3 V per bank, user-set), VCCA (2.5 V PLL analog), VCCD_PLL (1.2 V PLL digital), and VCC_GXB (1.2 V or 1.5 V for the multi-gigbit transceivers). Place a ferrite bead between VCCA and VCCINT and decouple each rail with a 100 nF high-frequency ceramic plus a 10 µF bulk cap on every ball-pair. Sequence VCCINT before VCCIO and bring up the transceivers last to avoid POR glitches.
Use the Cyclone IV GX board design guidelines for transceiver PCB layout. Route GXB_TX/RX differential pairs with 100 Ω differential impedance, length-matched within 150 mils of intra-pair skew, with AC-coupling capacitors placed close to the transmit ball (for PCIe/CPRI). Stitch a ground via fence every 200 mils along the entire transceiver channel and keep the 3.125 Gbps lanes isolated from switching power inductors. For 169-ball BGA breakout, escape with 0.5 mm via-in-pad or dogbone fan-out on a 4-layer stack-up.
Do not omit the external configuration flash. The Cyclone IV GX is SRAM-based and must be configured at every power cycle from an EPCS16/64 or equivalent AS-mode serial flash. A common design mistake is to leave MSEL[2:0] floating: MSEL must be hard-tied to ground or VCCPGM (1.8 V) per the configuration mode table. When using JTAG, ensure the TCK is properly pulled-down through 10 kΩ to avoid unintended reconfig during power-up.
Estimated: at maximum toggle activity with two active 3.125 Gbps transceivers, the EP4CGX22BF14I7N dissipates approximately 1.2-1.8 W. The 169-ball FBGA has no exposed thermal pad; thermal performance depends entirely on board-level copper. Use a continuous ground plane on layer 2 with at least 2 oz copper stitching under the BGA to keep junction temperature below 100 °C at the industrial top of the range. If the design is fully exercised at +85 °C ambient, derate toggle activity by 15-20% to stay inside the thermal envelope.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per distributor listings on DigiKey and Mouser. 'N' suffix on EP4CGX22BF14I7N denotes lead-free. Cyclone IV GX devices are not AEC-Q100 qualified as standard; contact Intel for automotive-grade variants.
