EP4CGX30CF23I7N - Cyclone IV GX FPGA 29.4K LE FBGA-484 | Intel
MPN: EP4CGX30CF23I7N β Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65.42 | $65.42 |
| 10 | $58.9 | $589.00 |
| 100 | $49.1 | $4,910.00 |
| 250 | $44.75 | $11,187.50 |
| 500 | $41.2 | $20,600.00 |
EP4CGX30CF23I7N Overview
A Cyclone IV GX FPGA is a low-cost, low-power programmable logic device that combines a logic fabric, on-chip memory, DSP blocks, and high-speed serial transceivers on a single die. Cyclone IV GX sits in the hierarchy: FPGA -> programmable logic -> semiconductor IC. Compared with Cyclone IV E (logic-only), the GX variant adds 3.125 Gbps transceivers for protocols such as PCIe Gen1, Gigabit Ethernet, CPRI, and basic Serial RapidIO. This combination makes Cyclone IV GX the lowest-cost Altera/Intel FPGA family with multi-gigabit transceivers.
Key features include 29,440 logic elements, 66 embedded 18x18 multipliers, 1,105,920 bits of RAM, and 8 transceivers (3.125 Gbps). The device supports LVDS, LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, and HSTL I/O standards, with up to 290 user I/O pins. Configuration is supported through passive serial, fast passive parallel, JTAG, and AS modes. The -I7N speed/temperature grade means industrial temperature range (-40C to +85C) and a fast speed grade.
Cyclone IV GX is built on a low-power 60 nm process and uses a core voltage of 1.2 V with auxiliary 2.5 V/3.3 V for I/O and PLL. The transceiver block includes physical coding sublayer (PCS) and physical medium attachment (PMA) circuitry supporting PCIe Gen1, GIGE, CPRI, and SDI. Embedded hard IP blocks (PCIe Gen1, GIGE) reduce soft-logic resource consumption and simplify protocol implementation.
Typical applications include industrial video broadcast equipment, low-cost PCIe endpoint cards, telecommunications line cards, and motor-control or industrial-control boards that benefit from on-chip transceivers. The FBGA-484 package suits mid-to-high-density designs that need transceiver connectivity.
When designing with this device, plan pinout using Quartus II or Intel Quartus Prime pin planner, observe PCB BGA breakout constraints, and provide clean PLL power rails for jitter performance. Free Quartus Prime Lite supports Cyclone IV GX synthesis, place-and-route, and timing analysis.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in same-package variants, and practical design notes not found in the standalone datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX30CF23I7N 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 EP4CGX30CF23I7N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Operating Temperature, Package, Speed Grade, RoHS Status, Embedded Memory.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX30CF23I7
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View Datasheet βEP4CGX30CF23C8N
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View Datasheet βEP4CGX30CF23C7N
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View Datasheet βEP4CGX30CF23C6N
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$85.78 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP4CGX30CF23I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone IV GX |
| Device Family | Cyclone IV GX |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 29,440 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 1,105,920 bits (108 Kb RAM blocks) |
| Embedded 18x18 Multipliers | 66 |
| Total Transceivers | 8 (3.125 Gbps) |
| User I/O Pins (max) | 290 |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (FineLine BGA), 23x23 mm, 1.0 mm pitch |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C (industrial) |
| Speed Grade | 7 (fast) |
| Core Voltage | 1.2 V |
| I/O Voltage | 1.5 V / 1.8 V / 2.5 V / 3.3 V (multi-standard) |
| Process Technology | 60 nm low-power |
| Configuration Modes | Passive Serial, Fast Passive Parallel, JTAG, Active Serial |
| Hard IP Blocks | PCIe Gen1 x1/x2, GIGE PHY |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Lead-Free | Yes |
EP4CGX30CF23I7N 484-ball fbga (fineline bga), 23x23 mm, 1.0 mm pitch Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CGX30CF23I7N (484-ball fbga (fineline bga), 23x23 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 EP4CGX30CF23I7N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CGX30CF23I7N is suitable for 6 applications: Industrial Video Broadcast and Conversion, PCIe Endpoint Add-In Cards, Telecommunications Line Cards and Remote Radio Heads, Industrial Motor Control and Servo Drives, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Surveillance and Security Camera Systems.
Industrial Video Broadcast and Conversion
The EP4CGX30CF23I7N's 29,440 logic elements and 66 18x18 multipliers handle real-time SD/HD video scaling, de-interlacing, and color-space conversion in broadcast converter and multiviewer products. Its 3.125 Gbps transceivers carry SDI or HDMI-over-serdes traffic between cards, replacing external serializer ICs and shrinking BOM. The industrial -40 to +85C temperature range meets outdoor and uncontrolled-cabinet deployments. Up to 290 user I/Os let engineers connect to DDR2 SDRAM, video ADCs/DACs, and external PHY chips via LVDS or LVCMOS, while on-chip M9K RAM blocks buffer scan-line data without external SRAM.
Recommended
PCIe Endpoint Add-In Cards
The Cyclone IV GX hard PCIe Gen1 IP block enables EP4CGX30CF23I7N to act as a low-cost PCIe x1 endpoint for data-acquisition, industrial-control, and instrumentation cards. Designers consume PCIe Gen1 hard IP without tying up soft logic, freeing LE for application processing. The 8 transceivers also support gigabit Ethernet, CPRI up to 3.072 Gbps for cellular fronthaul, and basic Serial RapidIO, allowing multi-protocol cards. With up to 290 user I/Os plus DDR/DDR2 SDRAM interfaces, the part serves as a flexible front-end for ADC/DAC interfaces, while the FBGA-484 footprint accommodates the high-I/O-count design.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line Cards and Remote Radio Heads
The EP4CGX30CF23I7N's 3.125 Gbps transceivers and on-chip PCS/PMA enable CPRI up to 3.072 Gbps and OBSAI links for small-cell and remote radio head (RRH) applications. With 29,440 LEs and 1.1 Mbit embedded RAM, it performs fronthaul processing, baseband pre-processing, and protocol bridging on a single device. Industrial temperature operation suits outdoor enclosures and base-station cabinets. The hard GIGE PHY block provides Gigabit Ethernet MAC connectivity without consuming logic resources, and Quartus Prime Lite delivers free synthesis and timing closure for cost-sensitive telecom builds.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control and Servo Drives
In industrial servo drives, the EP4CGX30CF23I7N handles field-oriented control (FOC), space-vector PWM, encoder feedback (Resolver, BiSS, EnDat), and safety logic on a single FPGA. Its 66 hardware 18x18 multipliers accelerate the Park/Clarke transforms and PID loops, while the industrial -40 to +85C temperature grade tolerates drive-cabinet ambient. With 290 user I/Os the device interfaces to gate drivers, ADCs, and absolute encoders without external glue logic. The transceiver block (when unused) can be powered down to save energy, fitting the industrial low-power requirement.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP4CGX30CF23I7N's combination of 8 high-speed transceivers, 1.1 Mbit embedded RAM, and abundant LVDS I/O suits bench-top instruments such as protocol analyzers, mixed-signal oscilloscope acquisition front-ends, and low-end arbitrary waveform generators. Engineers implement custom triggering, on-chip pattern generation, and protocol decoding in soft logic while leveraging the hard PCIe Gen1 IP for host data transfer. Industrial temperature operation supports lab and field-deployed instruments, and the FBGA-484 package exposes enough I/Os for parallel ADC/DAC interfacing.
Recommended
Surveillance and Security Camera Systems
In IP-surveillance camera designs, the EP4CGX30CF23I7N serves as the main SoC substitute for video pre-processing, lens distortion correction, motion detection, and on-sensor analytics. Its gigabit Ethernet PHY hard IP interfaces to network PHYs without external MAC chips, while its 66 DSP blocks accelerate JPEG/H.264 preprocessing pipelines. Industrial -40 to +85C operation tolerates sealed outdoor camera housings, and the 290 user I/O count lets the FPGA connect to image sensors (MIPI-bridged, HiSPi, LVDS) plus external DDR2 memory buffers. The transceiver-based PCIe option enables local-storage capture cards.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX30CF23I7N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX30CF23I7 | EP4CGX30CF23C8N | EP4CGX30CF23C8 | EP4CGX30CF23C7N | EP4CGX30CF23C7 | EP4CGX30CF23C6N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | FBGA-484 | FBGA-484 - same | FBGA-484 - same | FBGA-484 - same | FBGA-484 - same | FBGA-484 - same | FBGA-484 - same |
| Logic Elements | 29,440 | 29,440 | 29,440 | 29,440 | 29,440 | 29,440 | 29,440 |
| Embedded Memory (bits) | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 | 1,105,920 |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 66 |
| Transceivers (max) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +85C (industrial) | -40C to +85C (industrial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Speed Grade | 7 (fast) | 7 (fast) | 8 | 8 | 7 (fast) | 7 (fast) | 6 |
| Pb-free / N Suffix | Yes (N suffix) | No (without N) | Yes (N suffix) | No (without N) | Yes (N suffix) | No (without N) | Yes (N suffix) |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature range with fastest speed grade (vs EP4CGX30CF23C8N)
- Pb-free reflow-compliant packaging (vs EP4CGX30CF23I7)
- On-chip hard PCIe Gen1 IP (vs General-purpose FPGA without hard PCIe IP)
Design Notes
Estimated: at 1.2 V core VCC and 100 mA internal current draw, the EP4CGX30CF23I7N dissipates roughly 0.12 W idle. With high transceiver utilization at 3.125 Gbps, total device power can rise to 1.5-2.0 W; thermal analysis must assume worst-case 100% transceiver utilization. The FBGA-484 package requires thermal vias under the central BGA ball matrix and adequate PCB copper pour on inner layers to dissipate transceiver heat. Use the Quartus Prime PowerPlay early power estimator before PCB layout.
The FBGA-484 package uses 1.0 mm ball pitch and requires 4-6 layer PCB with microvia or via-in-pad technology for the inner ball rows. Place 0.1 uF and 10 uF decoupling capacitors adjacent to every VCC/VCCT/GND pair; Altera recommends one large bulk capacitor per power rail. Matched-length differential pair routing is required for all 3.125 Gbps transceiver channels, with 100 ohm differential impedance and length matching better than 150 mils.
Place configuration PROM (EPCS/EPCQ) on the same board if using Active Serial configuration mode. The JTAG header (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO, TRST) must be accessible for board bring-up and Quartus Prime programmer debugging. Power sequencing between 2.5 V/3.3 V auxiliary rails and 1.2 V core rail must follow the Cyclone IV device handbook chapter 1 timing diagram to prevent latch-up.
Do not exceed the absolute maximum VCCINT of 1.32 V or VCCAUX of 3.75 V; transceiver VCCRST and VCCT must be filtered with ferrite beads per the Cyclone IV GX pin connection guidelines. Configuration mode pins MSEL[3:0] must be set to the correct pull-up/pull-down combination for the chosen configuration scheme; incorrect MSEL settings can brick the device. Quartus Prime Lite supports the device without license - do not purchase a paid license unnecessarily.
All 3.125 Gbps transceiver channels require AC-coupled capacitors (typically 100 nF) on each serial pin pair per the Cyclone IV GX user guide. Reference clock input to the transceiver block must meet jitter requirements (typically < 100 ps peak-peak) for PCIe Gen1 compliance. LVDS I/O pairs must be routed with 100 ohm differential impedance and length-matched within 50 mils for proper setup/hold at the receiver.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel product page. Lead-free per N suffix. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC. Halogen-free status and conflict-minerals status not specified in the verified data.
