EP4SE530H35C4N - Stratix IV E FPGA 531K LE 1152-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP4SE530H35C4N β Last Time Buy| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4250 | $4,250.00 |
| 10 | $3950 | $39,500.00 |
| 100 | $3600 | $360,000.00 |
| 500 | $3300 | $1,650,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $3050 | $3,050,000.00 |
EP4SE530H35C4N Overview
A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a programmable logic device that combines configurable logic blocks, programmable interconnect, and dedicated hardware resources such as block RAM, DSP blocks, and high-speed transceivers into a single semiconductor. In the system hierarchy, an FPGA sits above general-purpose microcontrollers and below ASICs, offering hardware-level parallelism with software-like design flexibility. The Stratix IV E family specifically targets applications requiring very high logic density, high memory bandwidth, and embedded DSP throughput.
Key features include 28,033,024 bits of embedded memory, 1,024 DSP blocks, and 744 user I/Os. The 1152-ball flip-chip BGA package exposes the device's full transceiver and I/O capability while providing thermal dissipation adequate for high-utilization designs. The part is speed grade C4, balancing timing closure headroom against performance, and operates within the commercial 0 Β°C to 85 Β°C junction temperature range.
Architecturally, Stratix IV E uses an adaptive logic module (ALM) based fabric with 8-input fracturable look-up tables, paired with dedicated 18x18 multipliers for DSP, and tri-matrix block RAM that can be partitioned into independent memories. The fabric supports partial reconfiguration, which allows the system to swap logic regions on-the-fly for fault tolerance, power management, or multi-standard protocol support.
Typical applications include high-throughput digital signal processing for wireless baseband, real-time video processing and broadcast equipment, military and aerospace signal intelligence, high-speed networking line cards, and ASIC prototyping. Engineers select the EP4SE530H35C4N when designs outgrow the capacity of Cyclone or mid-density Stratix families and require hardened transceivers, large block RAM, and substantial DSP throughput.
Design consideration: with 744 user I/Os and a 1152-ball BGA, PCB layout requires careful signal-integrity planning, a multi-layer stack-up with dedicated power and ground planes, and thermal analysis under maximum junction temperature. The Quartus II design suite (or its successor) is required for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4SE530H35C4N β same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4SE530H35C2
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4SE530H35I3
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4SE530H35C4G
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4SE530H35C3N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4SE530H35I4N
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP4SE530H35C4N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix IV E |
| Logic Elements | 531,200 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 212,480 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 21,248 |
| Maximum Core Frequency | 717 MHz |
| Embedded Memory | 28,033,024 bits |
| Total RAM Bits | 28,033,024 |
| DSP Blocks | 1,024 (18x18 multipliers) |
| User I/Os | 744 |
| Process Technology | 40 nm CMOS |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V |
| Speed Grade | C4 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to 85C (commercial) |
| Package | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-1152) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP4SE530H35C4N 1152-ball fc-hfbga (hbga-1152) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4SE530H35C4N (1152-ball fc-hfbga (hbga-1152) 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 EP4SE530H35C4N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4SE530H35C4N is suitable for 6 applications: Wireless Baseband Signal Processing, High-Throughput Video Broadcast Equipment, Military and Aerospace Signal Intelligence, High-Speed Networking Line Cards, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Medical Imaging Acceleration.
Wireless Baseband Signal Processing
The EP4SE530H35C4N suits wireless baseband designs that demand massive parallel DSP throughput and on-chip buffering. Its 1,024 18x18 DSP blocks deliver hundreds of GMACs of multiply-accumulate throughput, enough to implement multi-antenna LTE or 5G NR physical-layer processing, channel estimation, and FFT/iFFT engines. The 28 Mbits of embedded block RAM keeps coefficients and intermediate samples on-chip, avoiding external memory round-trips that would otherwise throttle pipeline throughput. Placed in the signal-processing chain between the RF front-end and the upper-layer MAC/processor, the EP4SE530H35C4N absorbs real-time baseband work that would otherwise force partitioning across multiple mid-density FPGAs. Trade-off: BGA-1152 package and 744 I/Os require careful PCB stack-up but reward with bandwidth headroom for CPRI or JESD204B links.
Recommended
High-Throughput Video Broadcast Equipment
Broadcast video infrastructure such as contribution encoders, multi-viewers, and 4K/8K processing pipelines map naturally to the EP4SE530H35C4N. With 531,200 logic elements and 28 Mbits of embedded memory, the device can host multiple parallel video processing pipelines (de-interlacing, scaling, color space conversion, HDR mapping) simultaneously without dropping frames at 60 Hz. The 744 user I/Os accommodate multiple SDI, HDMI, or DisplayPort interfaces alongside external DDR3/DDR4 frame buffers. The 40 nm process gives the design predictable timing closure for synchronous video pipelines where every clock cycle maps to a pixel. Trade-off vs an ASIC: the FPGA allows post-deployment codec updates, valuable in a market where AV1, VVC, and proprietary broadcast standards co-exist.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Signal Intelligence
Signal intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare (EW), and radar preprocessing systems rely on the EP4SE530H35C4N's combination of high logic density, abundant DSP resources, and large embedded memory. The 1,024 DSP blocks enable real-time channelization, pulse compression, and digital down-conversion across wide instantaneous bandwidths, while the 28 Mbits of block RAM holds window coefficients and overlap-save buffers without external memory access. The 1152-ball flip-chip BGA supports the high I/O count needed for multiple ADC interfaces (JESD204B/C) feeding the FPGA in parallel. Commercial temperature grade (0C to 85C) is acceptable for ground-based systems; airborne platforms select the industrial variant. Trade-off: for radiation-hardened environments, consider space-grade FPGAs such as Xilinx Virtex-5QV as alternatives.
Recommended
High-Speed Networking Line Cards
High-end networking line cards for 100G/400G Ethernet, OTN, or packet-optical transport benefit from the EP4SE530H35C4N's high logic density and abundant I/O. The device can host multiple MAC and PCS/PMA cores, traffic managers, and deep packet inspection engines in a single chip, replacing multiple mid-range FPGAs. The 744 user I/Os support multiple QSFP28/QSFP-DD cages, external RLDRAM/NetLogic look-aside memories, and backplane SERDES interfaces. The 28 Mbits of block RAM implement on-chip queuing and statistics counters, offloading the CPU subsystem. Trade-off: for designs requiring the highest SERDES line rates, the Stratix IV GT family is preferred for its integrated 11.3 Gbps transceivers; the E variant focuses on logic and memory density.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
The EP4SE530H35C4N is widely deployed in ASIC prototyping and in-circuit emulation platforms where its 531,200 logic elements can host multi-million-gate ASIC RTL. Its high logic density allows partitioning an ASIC into one or two FPGAs, accelerating pre-silicon software development and system validation. The 1152-ball BGA and 744 I/Os support real-world ASIC pin multiplexing into FPGA pins via daughter-board or TDM pin-mapping. The 1,024 DSP blocks accelerate ASIC accelerator block emulation. Trade-off: ASIC prototyping using FPGAs runs at a fraction of the final ASIC clock frequency (typically 10x to 50x slower), so software timing analysis should not rely on FPGA-emulated latency for production-bound conclusions.
Recommended
Medical Imaging Acceleration
CT, MRI, ultrasound, and digital X-ray systems use the EP4SE530H35C4N to accelerate image reconstruction algorithms such as filtered back-projection and iterative reconstruction in real time. The 1,024 18x18 DSP blocks execute the convolution and matrix-multiply kernels of these algorithms in parallel, while the 28 Mbits of embedded RAM holds projection data and intermediate sinograms. The 744 I/Os and 1152-ball BGA accommodate multi-channel ADC input from detector arrays and high-bandwidth display output for diagnostic monitors. The commercial temperature range (0C to 85C) is acceptable for controlled clinical environments. Trade-off: FPGA-based reconstruction is cost-effective for mid-volume medical imaging, but for ultra-high-volume CT scanners, custom ASIC reconstruction boards may offer lower per-unit cost at scale.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4SE530H35C4N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4SE530H35C2 | EP4SE530H35I3 | EP4SE530H35C4G | EP4SE530H35C3N | EP4SE530H35I4N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA (HBGA-1152) | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA - same | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA - same | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA - same | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA - same | 1152-ball FC-HFBGA - same |
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same | Intel - same |
| Logic Elements | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 |
| Speed Grade | C4 (commercial) | C2 (faster) | I3 (industrial) | C4 (Pb-free) | C3 (intermediate) | I4 (industrial) |
| Temperature Grade | Commercial (0C to 85C) | Commercial | Industrial (-40C to 100C) | Commercial | Commercial | Industrial |
| DSP Blocks | 1,024 | 1,024 | 1,024 | 1,024 | 1,024 | 1,024 |
| Embedded Memory | 28,033,024 bits | 28,033,024 bits | 28,033,024 bits | 28,033,024 bits | 28,033,024 bits | 28,033,024 bits |
| User I/Os | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 |
| Lifecycle Status | Last time buy | Last time buy | Last time buy | Last time buy | Last time buy | Last time buy |
Key Differentiators
- Pin-compatible speed grade flexibility without PCB redesign (vs EP4SE530H35C2)
- Industrial temperature grade variant for harsh environments (vs EP4SE530H35I3)
- Lead-free assembly variant for RoHS-constrained markets (vs EP4SE530H35C4G)
Design Notes
The 1152-ball FC-HFBGA package requires a multi-layer PCB stack-up with at least 8 layers (4 signal, 2 ground, 2 power) to escape the BGA fan-out. Use 0.8 mm ball pitch and follow Intel's BGA escape routing guidelines; for signal integrity, maintain 50 ohm single-ended and 100 ohm differential impedance control on high-speed pairs. Via-in-pad with epoxy-filled plating is recommended for BGA balls carrying high-speed signals, especially for memory interfaces like DDR3 where stubs degrade signal quality at higher clock rates.
Estimated: At maximum junction temperature 85C (commercial) and worst-case power dissipation, the EP4SE530H35C4N can draw 15-20W depending on design utilization. A thermal solution combining a heat spreader, thermal interface material, and adequate airflow (200 LFM minimum) is recommended for designs sustaining high logic utilization above 70%. Junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (theta_JA) for the FC-HFBGA-1152 package depends heavily on PCB thermal design; Intel's package thermal characterization report should be consulted for the specific board stack-up.
The Stratix IV E requires multiple power rails: 0.9 V core, 1.1 V PLL analog, 1.5 V/1.8 V/2.5 V/3.3 V I/O banks depending on bank configuration. Power sequencing is mandatory - core voltage must ramp before I/O voltages to prevent I/O bus contention during configuration. Use Intel's PowerPlay early power estimator during architecture phase and the Power Analyzer post-place-and-route for accurate consumption. Estimated: bulk decoupling of 4x 100 uF polymer + 22x 0.1 uF ceramic per quadrant is typical for the HBGA-1152 package.
Common pitfalls when designing with the EP4SE530H35C4N include: (1) overlooking configuration mode selection (AS, PS, JTAG, FPP) and missing the appropriate pull-up/pull-down resistors on MSEL pins; (2) failing to provide a clean configuration clock or proper CRC error handling on the configuration flash; (3) underestimating logic utilization, where exceeding 80% of available LE can cause severe routing congestion; (4) ignoring the MSV (Minimum Stable Voltage) requirement during power-down that can corrupt configuration memory if violated.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance confirmed via DigiKey product listing. AEC-Q100 not applicable - this is an FPGA, not an automotive-grade IC. Halogen-free status not specified in verified data; marked unknown.
