EP4SGX360KF40C4N - Stratix IV GX FPGA 353.6K LE | Intel
MPN: EP4SGX360KF40C4N β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4200 | $4,200.00 |
| 10 | $3990 | $39,900.00 |
| 25 | $3780 | $94,500.00 |
| 50 | $3570 | $178,500.00 |
| 100 | $3360 | $336,000.00 |
EP4SGX360KF40C4N Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a programmable logic device built from an array of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory, DSP slices, and routing resources that can be reconfigured by the designer after manufacture. FPGAs occupy the middle ground between fixed-function ASICs and software-driven processors, delivering hardware-level parallelism with software-like design flexibility. Stratix IV GX sits in the high-end tier of programmable logic, alongside PowerPC and soft-core processor IP, and forms part of the broader semiconductor hierarchy: IC > programmable logic > FPGA > high-end serial-enabled FPGA.
Key differentiating features include 8.5 Gbps embedded transceivers, hard PCI Express Gen1/Gen2 IP cores, hard memory controllers for DDR3/QDRII+, and dedicated DSP blocks (total roughly 1,040 18x18 multipliers) that accelerate wide datapath arithmetic. The 40 nm process minimizes dynamic power compared to 65 nm predecessors, and partial reconfiguration support enables live logic swap for fault-tolerant or multi-mode systems.
Typical applications include high-speed serial interface bridging (e.g., 10G Ethernet MACs, PCIe Gen2 endpoints, SRIO), digital video broadcast and 3G/HD-SDI switching, radar baseband processing, ASIC prototyping, and military/aerospace signal processing where the combination of high logic density and embedded transceivers reduces board area and BOM cost.
When designing with the EP4SGX360KF40C4N, careful power-rail sequencing and high-density BGA fanout are critical; use Intel's Quartus Prime design suite for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure. Verify signal-integrity margins on the transceiver channels and respect the 1.0 V core voltage requirement.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4SGX360KF40C4N 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 EP4SGX360KF40C4N (same form factor and footprint) β differing in Package, Speed Grade, Transceivers, Operating Temperature, Process Technology.
Quick Comparison Tool β Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4SGX360KF40C4
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View Datasheet βEP4SGX360KF40C4N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix IV GX |
| Manufacturer | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 353,600 |
| Number of LABs/CLBs | 14,144 |
| Total RAM Bits | 23,105,536 |
| Number of I/O | 744 |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (40 mm) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | 0Β°C to +85Β°C (Commercial) |
| Speed Grade | C4 (commercial, -4 bin) |
| Process Technology | TSMC 40 nm |
| Transceivers | Up to 8.5 Gbps embedded |
| Supply Voltage Core | 0.9 V to 1.0 V |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| Lifecycle | Not Recommended for New Designs (NRND) |
EP4SGX360KF40C4N 1517-bbga, fcbga (40 mm) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4SGX360KF40C4N (1517-bbga, fcbga (40 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 EP4SGX360KF40C4N.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4SGX360KF40C4N is suitable for 6 applications: 10G Ethernet Bridging and Switching, PCI Express Gen2 Endpoint and Root Complex, Digital Video Broadcast and 3G/HD-SDI Switching, Military/Aerospace Signal Processing, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Wireless Baseband and CPRI Front-Haul.
10G Ethernet Bridging and Switching
The EP4SGX360KF40C4N's 353,600 logic elements and embedded 8.5 Gbps transceivers make it ideal for 10G Ethernet MAC, XAUI-to-XAUI bridging, and L2/L3 switching applications. The high LE count absorbs full packet-processing pipelines, CRC engines, and lookup tables without external TCAMs, while the transceiver array delivers XAUI, RXAUI, and KR backplanes. Compared to ASIC alternatives, this FPGA reduces NRE cost and accelerates time-to-market for low-volume enterprise switches. Power consumption at full transceiver utilization typically sits between 8-15 W depending on transceiver count and toggle rate.
Recommended
PCI Express Gen2 Endpoint and Root Complex
With hard PCIe Gen1/Gen2 IP cores and 8.5 Gbps transceivers, the EP4SGX360KF40C4N implements single-lane, x4, and x8 PCIe endpoints and root complexes for add-in cards, backplanes, and embedded compute modules. The 744 user I/Os provide ample general-purpose I/O for parallel sensor buses and sideband signals. Quartus Prime's hard IP block reduces soft-logic overhead by ~20K LE versus fully soft PCIe implementations, leaving more logic for application data paths.
Recommended
Digital Video Broadcast and 3G/HD-SDI Switching
Broadcast studios and video routers leverage the EP4SGX360KF40C4N's logic density for multi-channel SDI de-embedders, frame synchronizers, and 3G/HD-SDI crosspoint switches. The transceivers support SDI rates up to 2.97 Gbps natively, and the 23 Mbit embedded RAM buffers multiple video frames on-chip. Built-in CPRI/OBSAI support extends the same hardware to wireless baseband front-haul, giving OEMs one silicon platform for both broadcast and telecom video.
Recommended
Military/Aerospace Signal Processing
Defense and aerospace systems use the EP4SGX360KF40C4N for radar baseband, electronic-warfare DSP, and secure communications because the high logic density consolidates many DSP blocks (18x18 multipliers) and embedded RAM for FFT-based processing. Wide parallel datapath implementations exceed DSP-only processor performance by 10x-100x at the same clock. The commercial C4 speed grade operates 0-85Β°C, but for flight-qualified builds, designers derate to industrial temperature variants. Long-term support and configuration bitstream management are key for aerospace lifecycles exceeding 15 years.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
With 353,600 logic elements and abundant transceivers, the EP4SGX360KF40C4N is widely deployed as an ASIC prototyping platform, partitioning multi-million-gate ASIC designs across multiple FPGAs via Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) or pin-multiplexing. Quartus Prime supports standard synthesis flows (Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog) and ASIC-equivalent timing libraries. Compared to commercial emulator farms, single-FPGA prototyping offers low-cost bring-up at the expense of full-chip real-time performance.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband and CPRI Front-Haul
The EP4SGX360KF40C4N's transceiver array and 23 Mbit on-chip memory enable CPRI/OBSAI front-haul aggregation between baseband units (BBU) and remote radio heads (RRH) in 4G/5G networks. The high logic capacity handles multi-sector baseband DSP, turbo decoding, and IQ sample buffering. Hard memory controllers interface directly to DDR3/QDRII+ external memory for sample storage. Per-sector power dissipation typically stays below 4 W, well within Altera's 40 nm power envelope.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4SGX360KF40C4N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4SGX360KF40C4 | EP4SGX360KF40C3N | EP4SGX360KF40C3 | EP4SGX360KF40C2N | EP4SGX360KF40C2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (KF40) - same |
| Logic Elements | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 | 353,600 |
| Number of LABs/CLBs | 14,144 | 14,144 | 14,144 | 14,144 | 14,144 | 14,144 |
| Total RAM Bits | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 | 23,105,536 |
| Number of I/O | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 |
| Speed Grade | C4 (fastest) | C4 | C3 | C3 | C2 (slower) | C2 (slower) |
| Pb-Free ('N' suffix) | Yes | No (non-Pb-free variant) | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Operating Temperature | 0Β°C to +85Β°C (Commercial) | 0Β°C to +85Β°C | 0Β°C to +85Β°C | 0Β°C to +85Β°C | 0Β°C to +85Β°C | 0Β°C to +85Β°C |
Key Differentiators
- Fastest -4 speed grade of the KF40 family (vs EP4SGX360KF40C3N)
- Pb-free / RoHS compliant assembly (vs EP4SGX360KF40C4 (non-N))
- Highest-density Stratix IV GX with KF40 pinout (vs EP4SGX230KF40C2N)
Design Notes
The 1517-ball FCBGA package has theta_JA of approximately 8-12 C/W with a properly designed thermal via array under the die. Stratix IV GX devices at full transceiver utilization (24+ lanes @ 8.5 Gbps) can dissipate 15-25 W. Use at least 4 layers of 1-oz copper, a thermal via farm of 0.3 mm pitch directly under the package thermal pad, and a heatsink with thermal interface material. Monitor junction temperature via the built-in die-temperature sensing diode for telemetry.
Stratix IV GX requires multiple supply rails: 0.9 V or 1.0 V VCCINT (core, speed-grade dependent), 2.5 V or 3.0 V VCCPD (pre-driver), 1.2 V/1.5 V/1.8 V VCCIO (per-bank I/O), and dedicated VCC_GXB for transceivers (1.0 V/1.2 V). Power-on sequencing must follow Intel's POR (Power-On Reset) guidelines: VCCINT first, then VCCPD, then VCCIO, then VCC_GXB, with monotonic rise. Use a multi-rail controller like the LTC3554 or ISL9444 with sequenced enable pins.
The KF40 FCBGA 1517-ball package requires HDI PCB technology (microvias, 0.1 mm pitch escape routing). For high-speed transceiver channels, maintain 100-ohm differential impedance with no more than two vias per TX/RX pair, and follow Intel's transceiver channel-loss budget (typically <8 dB at 5 GHz Nyquist). Use a minimum 12-layer stack-up with continuous GND/PWR planes adjacent to every signal layer. Implement length-matching on all DDR3/QDRII+ interfaces within Β±25 ps.
Stratix IV GX transceivers support up to 8.5 Gbps. For backplane applications, use pre-emphasis and equalization settings from the ALTGX IP core. Critical signals: TX serial data, RX serial data, REFCLK (must be 100/125 MHz with <300 fs RMS jitter for 6.25 Gbps and above). Keep REFCLK routes away from switching power supply edges and protected with a GND guard trace. Verify eye-mask margin in the lab with a BERT at 1E-12 BER.
Common pitfalls when designing with the EP4SGX360KF40C4N include: (1) omitting the POR delay or config-from-flash supervisor circuit, leading to boot failures after power glitches; (2) incorrect pin assignment for MSEL[4:0] config mode pins causing JTAG/AS/PS mode confusion; (3) underestimating transceiver reference-clock jitter when using non-dedicated PLLs; (4) using LVCMOS 3.3 V on banks configured for 2.5 V VCCIO; (5) ignoring Quartus Prime fitter warnings about unrouted nets in the high-utilization regions.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliant per distributor listings. Pb-free assembly confirmed by 'N' suffix. Halogen-free per Intel product specification. AEC-Q100 not applicable (FPGA is not automotive-qualified). Intel continues to support Stratix IV GX for existing customers; new designs should target Stratix V GX, Arria 10, or Agilex 7.
