EP4CGX50DF23I7N - Cyclone IV GX FPGA 49K LE | Intel
MPN: EP4CGX50DF23I7N ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $168.5 | $168.50 |
| 10 | $152.1 | $1,521.00 |
| 100 | $132.85 | $13,285.00 |
| 500 | $118.4 | $59,200.00 |
| 1,000 | $105.2 | $105,200.00 |
EP4CGX50DF23I7N Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a class of programmable logic device (PLD) belonging to the broader hierarchy of digital integrated circuits -> programmable logic -> field-programmable gate arrays -> semiconductor. FPGAs consist of an array of configurable logic blocks, programmable interconnects, embedded memory blocks (M9K/M10K/RAM), DSP blocks, and modern I/O serializers connected via a programmable routing fabric, allowing engineers to implement custom digital functions, glue logic, parallel signal processing, and high-speed serial interfaces after PCB fabrication - shortening time-to-market versus ASICs.
Key features include integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers for high-speed serial connectivity, up to 290 user I/O pins, dedicated hardware multipliers (DSP blocks), 4 PLLs for clock management, and support for external memory interfaces such as DDR/DDR2/QDRII SRAM. The Cyclone IV GX family also integrates 8B/10B encoding hardware and PCI Express hard IP blocks, enabling cost-optimized serial protocol implementation without external PHY chips.
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N leverages a 60 nm low-power process, 1.2 V core operation, and architectural optimizations (such as the programmable power technology) to deliver an excellent performance-per-watt profile for cost-sensitive applications. It supports both commercial (0 C to 85 C) and industrial (-40 C to 100 C) operating ranges via speed grade I7 with the industrial option, while remaining in a familiar Quartus II / Quartus Prime design flow familiar to legacy Altera users.
Typical applications include industrial motor control, video surveillance and image processing bridges, low-cost PCIe endpoint cards, industrial Ethernet and Profinet interfaces, software-defined radio front-ends, test and measurement instrumentation, and protocol bridging between legacy parallel buses and modern high-speed serial links. The 484-ball FBGA package provides ample I/O for memory-rich interfaces while remaining PCB-manufacturable on standard 4-layer or 6-layer stack-ups.
When designing with the EP4CGX50DF23I7N, ensure the PCB uses at least 6 layers with continuous GND planes and a full ball-grid-array escape routing strategy (microvia or via-in-pad recommended). Decouple each VCC/GND pair with 0.1 uF and 10 uF ceramics within 1 mm of the balls. Configure unused transceivers to their power-down mode and tie JTAG TCK/TMS to known states via pull resistors to avoid boundary-scan lockup.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in package-compatible Cyclone IV GX family alternatives, and practical design notes not found in the manufacturer's datasheet - enabling engineers to evaluate lifecycle risk, second-source resilience, and PCB design impact in a single view.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CGX50DF23I7N — 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 EP4CGX50DF23I7N (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, RoHS Status, Transceivers, Logic Elements, Operating Temperature.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4CGX50DF23C8N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$56.4 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX50DF23C7N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$43.2 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX50DF23C6N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$52.3 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX110DF23I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$182 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX150DF31I7N
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ 参数待验证✓ In Stock
$285 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4CGX50DF23I7N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone IV GX |
| Family | Cyclone IV |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 49,888 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 3,118 |
| Embedded Memory | 2,562 Kbit |
| Number of Logic Cells | 49,888 |
| Process Technology | 60 nm |
| Core Voltage (VCCINT) | 1.2 V |
| Maximum User I/O Pins | 290 |
| Number of Transceivers | 8 (3.125 Gbps) |
| Package | 484-ball FBGA (BGA-484) |
| Package Body Size | 23 x 23 mm |
| Ball Pitch | 1.00 mm |
| Operating Temperature (Industrial) | -40 C to +100 C |
| Speed Grade | I7 |
| Number of PLLs | 4 |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP4CGX50DF23I7N 23 x 23 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CGX50DF23I7N (23 x 23 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 EP4CGX50DF23I7N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CGX50DF23I7N is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Motor Control and Drive, Low-Cost PCIe Endpoint Card, Video Surveillance and Image Processing Bridge, Industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus Interface, Software-Defined Radio Front-End, Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Protocol Bridging and Legacy Interconnect.
Industrial Motor Control and Drive
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N's 49,888 logic elements and industrial temperature grade (-40 C to +100 C) make it ideal for industrial motor control and variable-frequency drive (VFD) platforms. Its 3,118 CLBs and 2,562 Kbit embedded RAM support complex space-vector PWM modulators, encoder decoding (incremental, EnDat, SSI, BiSS), and field-oriented control (FOC) state machines in a single device. The integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers enable real-time multi-axis communication over EtherCAT, PROFINET IRT, or SERCOS III without external PHYs. At a 1.2 V core on a 60 nm low-power process, the FPGA typically dissipates 1.5-3 W in motor-control workloads - low enough for fan-less industrial enclosures. Compared to a DSP+ASIC solution, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N consolidates the entire digital control loop and the communications MAC in one BGA-484 device, reducing BOM and shortening development time versus fixed-function controllers.
Recommended
Low-Cost PCIe Endpoint Card
The 'D' suffix on EP4CGX50DF23I7N denotes an integrated PCIe hard IP block plus 8 transceivers, making it one of the lowest-cost ways to add a PCIe Gen1 (2.5 Gbps) or PCIe Gen2 (5 Gbps in some configurations) endpoint to an embedded system. The 49,888 logic elements and 2,562 Kbit embedded memory support DMA engines, MSI/MSI-X interrupt controllers, and application-layer logic alongside the PCIe hard IP. The FBGA-484 package provides ample I/O for host-side parallel buses (PCIe x1/x2/x4 PHY) and an external DDR2/QDRII memory controller for high-throughput buffering. For cost-sensitive data-acquisition, test, and instrumentation cards, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N eliminates an external PHY and simplifies board layout - reducing BOM, PCB area, and BOM-risk versus discrete PCIe ASSP solutions.
Recommended
Video Surveillance and Image Processing Bridge
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N's 49,888 logic elements and dedicated hardware multipliers (DSP blocks) handle real-time image processing pipelines - Bayer demosaicing, color-space conversion, edge enhancement, and basic motion detection - at HD (1080p60) throughput. The 290 user I/O pins accept parallel image-sensor data, BT.656/1120 video buses, or MIPI-CSI-2 bridges, while the 3.125 Gbps transceivers serialize processed video for transmission over HD-SDI, 3G-SDI, or proprietary coax links to recording or analytics servers. Industrial temperature grade and long-term Intel PSG lifecycle support suit outdoor and 24/7 surveillance deployments. Compared to ASIC-based SoCs, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N offers faster time-to-market for new image-processing IP and field-upgradable firmware.
Recommended
Industrial Ethernet and Fieldbus Interface
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N integrates 8 transceivers operating up to 3.125 Gbps and dedicated MAC hardware, enabling a single device to handle PROFINET IRT, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, or SERCOS III protocols - all without an external PHY stack. The 49,888 logic elements fit the worst-case industrial Ethernet IP cores plus a small RTOS-hosted ARM Cortex-M1/M3 soft-core (via Quartus Prime Qsys) for application-layer processing. Industrial temperature grade (-40 C to +100 C) and 60 nm low-power process suit DIN-rail and field-mount installations where ambient temperature is uncontrolled. Designers typically pair the EP4CGX50DF23I7N with an external RJ45 magnetics and a single Ethernet PHY, achieving multi-protocol gateway functionality with 30-50% lower BOM cost versus ASSP solutions.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Front-End
The 3.125 Gbps transceivers of the EP4CGX50DF23I7N handle direct digitization of intermediate-frequency (IF) signals up to several hundred MHz, while the 49,888 logic elements run digital down-conversion (DDC), finite-impulse-response (FIR) filtering, and Fast-Fourier-Transform (FFT) processing for spectrum analysis. The 2,562 Kbit embedded RAM buffers IQ samples, and 290 user I/O pins interface ADCs, DACs, and front-panel controls. While not a true RF ADC companion, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N excels as the digital baseband engine for narrowband and HF-band software-defined radios used in amateur, public-safety, and low-cost test equipment. At 1.2 V core on 60 nm, typical baseband workload power is 2-4 W - manageable with a 1 square-inch copper heatsink pour.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N is widely adopted in mid-range oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and bench-top arbitrary-waveform generators, where 49,888 logic elements implement trigger engines, protocol decoders, and DSP post-processing. The 3.125 Gbps transceivers capture serial buses (USB 3.0, PCIe Gen2, SATA, 10/100/1000 Ethernet) for protocol analysis, while 290 user I/O support high-channel-count parallel logic-analyzer probes. Industrial temperature grade and long-term Intel PSG support are critical for measurement-equipment vendors that ship products with 10+ year service lifetimes. A typical 4-channel 1 GHz oscilloscope uses one EP4CGX50DF23I7N per acquisition board plus a host processor for display and remote control - consolidating functions previously requiring multiple ASICs.
Recommended
Protocol Bridging and Legacy Interconnect
The EP4CGX50DF23I7N's mix of 290 user I/O, 8 high-speed transceivers, and 49,888 logic elements makes it a versatile bridge between legacy parallel buses (PCI, ISA, VME, parallel RapidIO) and modern serial standards (PCIe, 10 GbE, SATA, USB 3.0). Defense, industrial, and telecommunications OEMs use it to extend the lifetime of legacy backplanes while migrating to high-speed serial fabrics. Industrial temperature grade and the long-term Intel PSG roadmap make it suitable for defense and aerospace platforms with 15-20 year service obligations. Compared to ASSP bridge chips, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N offers protocol flexibility and firmware updates over the JTAG or serial configuration interface, supporting evolving bridge requirements without PCB redesign.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CGX50DF23I7N — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CGX50DF23C8N | EP4CGX50DF23C7N | EP4CGX50DF23C6N | EP4CGX110DF23I7N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | FBGA-484 (23x23 mm) | FBGA-484 (23x23 mm) - same | FBGA-484 (23x23 mm) - same | FBGA-484 (23x23 mm) - same | FBGA-484 (23x23 mm) - same |
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Logic Elements | 49,888 | 49,888 | 49,888 | 49,888 | 109,424 |
| Speed Grade | I7 (industrial) | C8 (commercial) | C7 (commercial) | C6 (commercial) | I7 (industrial) |
| Operating Temperature | -40 C to +100 C | 0 C to +85 C | 0 C to +85 C | 0 C to +85 C | -40 C to +100 C |
| Embedded Memory | 2,562 Kbit | 2,562 Kbit | 2,562 Kbit | 2,562 Kbit | 5,490 Kbit |
| Transceivers | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) | 8 (up to 3.125 Gbps) |
| PCIe Hard IP | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Key Differentiators
- Integrated 3.125 Gbps transceivers with PCIe hard IP at the lowest cost point in the Cyclone IV GX family (vs EP4CGX50CF23I7N)
- Speed grade I7 (fastest industrial) vs speed grade C8/C7/C6 commercial variants (vs EP4CGX50DF23C8N)
- Drop-in density upgrade path to EP4CGX110DF23I7N with same FBGA-484 footprint (vs EP4CGX110DF23I7N)
Design Notes
The 484-ball FBGA at 1.0 mm pitch requires a minimum 4-layer PCB stack-up with continuous ground planes; for high-speed transceiver designs use 6 or more layers with dedicated power planes for VCCINT, VCCA, and VCCD_PLL. Microvia (laser-drilled) technology is strongly recommended for breakout; through-hole vias require 8-mil drill with 16-mil pads, which consumes significant routing channels and may force dog-bone fanout. Place decoupling capacitors (0.1 uF + 10 uF per VCC/GND pair) within 1 mm of each ball. Use the Intel-provided FBGA-484 land pattern from the Cyclone IV GX device handbook - third-party footprints may not match solder-ball collapse geometry and cause head-in-pillow defects.
Estimated: at typical workload, the EP4CGX50DF23I7N dissipates 1.5-3 W at 1.2 V core on 60 nm process. With theta_JA of approximately 15 C/W (still air, JEDEC JESD51 test board with thermal vias under the package), this yields a junction-to-ambient rise of 23-45 C above ambient. For industrial deployments at 70 C ambient, expect junction temperature around 95-115 C - within the industrial -40 C to +100 C range but approaching the limit. A 1 square-inch copper heatsink pour on the top layer (under a heatsink) reduces theta_JA to ~10 C/W. Use the Quartus Prime PowerPlay analyzer to confirm junction temperature for your specific utilization and toggle-rate workload before finalizing the thermal solution.
Do not leave JTAG TCK or TMS floating - tie TCK to GND via 1-10 kohm and TMS to VCCIO via 1-10 kohm to prevent spurious boundary-scan state transitions during power-up. Configure unused transceivers to their power-down mode (quartus_pgm and the Pin Planner handle this automatically when you set the pin as 'Unused'). Do not exceed 3.125 Gbps per transceiver unless your PCB stack-up is verified for the higher data rate via channel simulation - many 4-layer FR-4 designs hit signal-integrity walls above 2.5 Gbps. Always check the Cyclone IV GX errata documents before PCB fabrication; multiple JTAG and configuration-mode errata have been published over the device lifetime.
Route the 8 transceiver channels as 100 ohm differential pairs with length matching within 5 mils for each TX/RX pair. Keep the transceiver power pins (VCCA, VCCHIP, VCCTRX) on a dedicated plane region with ferrite-bead isolation from the digital VCCINT rail. Match the differential pair length across the entire channel, not just within the FPGA package. For PCIe Gen2 applications, use the Intel-recommended reference clock distribution circuit (HCSL termination to 100 ohm differential) and follow the PCIe CEM specification for AC-coupling capacitor placement. Reference Intel application note AN 532 for Cyclone IV GX transceiver board design guidelines.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free per Intel product page. Not AEC-Q100 qualified - Cyclone IV GX is industrial-grade (not automotive). For automotive applications, use Cyclone V or Cyclone 10 GX with explicit AEC-Q100 variants.
