EP4SGX530KH40I3 - 531K LEs Stratix IV GX FPGA, 1517-BGA | Intel
MPN: EP4SGX530KH40I3 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $14226.21 | $14,226.21 |
| 5 | $13980 | $69,900.00 |
| 10 | $13650 | $136,500.00 |
| 25 | $13200 | $330,000.00 |
| 100 | $12500 | $1,250,000.00 |
EP4SGX530KH40I3 Overview
An FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) is a semiconductor device built around a matrix of configurable logic blocks (CLBs), embedded memory blocks, DSP slices, and programmable I/O cells that the user can interconnect via a hardware description language. Within the broader taxonomy, an FPGA is a sub-class of programmable logic devices (PLDs), which in turn sit under the digital logic IC family alongside ASICs and CPLDs. The 531,200 logic elements figure places the EP4SGX530KH40I3 in the high-end tier of the Stratix IV lineup, where each LE typically combines a 4-input LUT, a programmable register, and dedicated carry-chain logic. Memory density of 28 Mb total, organised as M9K/M144K blocks, supports packet buffering and large lookup tables typical of networking and signal-processing designs.
Key features include a maximum of 1,024 DSP blocks delivering up to 135 GMAC/s of fixed/floating-point throughput, embedded 8B/10B and PCI Express (PIPE) hard IP blocks, 24 dedicated full-duplex transceivers with per-channel PMA/PCS, dynamic reconfiguration via Partial Reconfiguration (PR) controller, and core voltage operation around 0.9 V with separate transceiver/auxiliary rails. The I-temperature grade (I3) corresponds to an industrial operating junction temperature range, making the device suitable for thermally challenging environments.
Typical applications include 40 Gbps/100 Gbps packet processing, OTN/SONET framer/mapper ASIC prototyping, wireless baseband digital up/down-conversion (DUC/DDC), test and measurement instrumentation, high-end military radar signal processing, and broadcast video processing. The 1517-pin FC-HFBGA package uses lead-free solder balls with flip-chip interconnects, providing superior electrical and thermal performance versus wire-bond BGAs and enabling the device to drive high-frequency serial links.
When designing with this device, attention must be paid to PCB stack-up to support 8.5 Gbps SerDes channels, including controlled-impedance differential pairs, AC-coupling capacitor placement near the transmitter, and strict return-loss budgeting. Quartus II (or later Quartus Prime) software is required for synthesis, place-and-route, and timing closure; legacy 13.x or 14.x releases remain the most stable toolchains for the Stratix IV family.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4SGX530KH40I3 — 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 EP4SGX530KH40I3 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Operating Temperature, Transceivers, Mounting Type, Process Technology.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP4SGX530KH40C4N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3680 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX530KH40C3N
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$3420 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX530KH40C2N
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3700 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX530KH40C4
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$815 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP4SGX530KH40C3
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View Datasheet →EP4SGX530KH40I3 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Stratix IV GX |
| Manufacturer | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Process Technology | TSMC 40 nm |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 531,200 |
| Total Embedded Memory | 28,033,024 bits (28 Mb) |
| Number of LABs/CLBs | 21,248 |
| Maximum User I/Os | 744 |
| Transceivers | Up to 24 channels |
| Max Transceiver Data Rate | 8.5 Gbps |
| Core Voltage | 0.9 V |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (I3) |
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FCBGA (FC-HFBGA), 40x40 mm |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount (Flip-Chip BGA) |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP4SGX530KH40I3 1517-bbga, fcbga (fc-hfbga), 40x40 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4SGX530KH40I3 (1517-bbga, fcbga (fc-hfbga), 40x40 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 EP4SGX530KH40I3.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4SGX530KH40I3 is suitable for 6 applications: 40G/100G Line Card Packet Processing, Wireless Baseband Digital Up/Down Conversion (DUC/DDC), Test and Measurement Instrumentation, High-Speed ASIC Prototyping, Military Radar and Signal Processing, Broadcast Video Processing and Format Conversion.
40G/100G Line Card Packet Processing
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 fits 40G/100G Ethernet line cards because it provides 531,200 LEs for deep packet inspection pipelines plus 24 transceivers at 8.5 Gbps that aggregate to roughly 192 Gbps of full-duplex serial bandwidth. Placed as the central forwarding engine between QSFP+ optics and the network processor, the FPGA's 28 Mb of embedded memory absorbs burst queueing while the embedded 1000BASE-X and XAUI hard-IP blocks eliminate external PHY chips. Compared with merchant NPU solutions, the EP4SGX530KH40I3 enables protocol-flexible parsing at line rate.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband Digital Up/Down Conversion (DUC/DDC)
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 is well-matched to wireless baseband DUC/DDC because its DSP blocks deliver up to 135 GMAC/s, capable of running 64-tap FIR filtering, crest-factor reduction, and digital pre-distortion across multiple LTE or 5G NR carriers. The 24 high-speed transceivers carry CPRI/OBSAI fronthaul data to the radio unit, while the 28 Mb of on-chip memory holds coefficient banks. Industrial I3 temperature grade supports outdoor or cabinet-mounted base station equipment.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 fits high-end T&M instruments because designers can synthesize arbitrary stimulus generation, signal capture, and protocol decoding in a single 531K-LE device. The 24 transceivers at 8.5 Gbps support protocols like PCIe Gen2, SATA, USB 3.0, and multi-lane SerDes for protocol analyzers, while the 744 user I/Os drive high-resolution ADCs and DACs without external muxing. Quartus II's TimeQuest timing analyzer supports timing closure for sub-nanosecond instrumentation accuracy.
Recommended
High-Speed ASIC Prototyping
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 serves as an ASIC prototyping vehicle because its 531,200 LEs can map a multi-million-gate ASIC into a single device, eliminating FPGA partitioning headaches. The 24 transceivers preserve high-speed ASIC IO such as DDR3, Aurora 64b/66b, and Serial RapidIO at their native rates. Quartus II multi-FPGA partitioning and time-domain-multiplexed (TDM) debug features let engineering teams validate entire ASIC subsystems months before silicon returns.
Recommended
Military Radar and Signal Processing
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 fits defense radar applications because its industrial temperature range handles avionics and shipboard thermal environments, while its 28 Mb of memory stores raw ADC samples and FFT bins. The 24 transceivers ingest multi-channel LVDS or serial ADC data at 8.5 Gbps from A/D stages; the 1,024 DSP blocks run beamforming, pulse compression, and MTI filters in real time. Hardware-in-the-loop capability via Partial Reconfiguration enables runtime algorithm swaps.
Recommended
Broadcast Video Processing and Format Conversion
The EP4SGX530KH40I3 is well-suited to broadcast video processing because its 28 Mb embedded memory buffers full 4K frames and its 24 transceivers handle SDI, HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort, and SMPTE 2022/2110 uncompressed video at up to 8.5 Gbps per link. The 531,200 LEs scale up to 4:4:4 12-bit 4K processing pipelines, deinterlacing, scaling, and HDR tone-mapping in a single device. Industrial I3 grade fits outside broadcast vans and central equipment rooms.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4SGX530KH40I3 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4SGX530KH40C4N | EP4SGX530KH40C3N | EP4SGX530KH40C2N | EP4SGX530KH40C4 | EP4SGX530KH40C3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) - same | 1517-BBGA, FC-HFBGA (KH40) - same |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) |
| Logic Elements | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 | 531,200 |
| Temperature Grade | Industrial (I3) -40C to +100C | Commercial (C4) 0C to +85C | Commercial (C3) 0C to +85C | Commercial (C2) 0C to +85C | Commercial (C4) 0C to +85C | Commercial (C3) 0C to +85C |
| Speed Grade | I3 | C4 | C3 | C2 | C4 | C3 |
| Transceivers | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps | 24 channels @ 8.5 Gbps |
| Embedded Memory | 28,033,024 bits (28 Mb) | 28 Mb | 28 Mb | 28 Mb | 28 Mb | 28 Mb |
| User I/Os | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 | 744 |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial-grade silicon on the same KH40 ball map (vs EP4SGX530KH40C4N)
- Same-package same-die alternatives across multiple speed grades (vs EP4SGX530KH40C3N)
- Higher logic density than lower-tier Stratix IV GX (vs EP4SGX360KF40I3N)
- Drop-in identical silicon across N and non-N lead-free suffixes (vs EP4SGX530KH40C4)
- Comprehensive embedded hard IP blocks (vs EP4CGX75CF23I7N)
Design Notes
Estimated: At 8.5 Gbps the Stratix IV GX transceivers require controlled-impedance differential pairs with 100 ohm differential impedance, length matching to within 5 mil (0.127 mm) for the in-pair P/N, and a ground reference plane on an adjacent layer with no more than one dielectric hop. AC-coupling capacitors (typically 100 nF X7R 0402) must be placed within 250 mil of the transmitter ball; otherwise the transmitter pre-emphasis cannot compensate for the loss and the eye diagram will close. Buried vias and back-drilling are strongly recommended for via stub mitigation.
The 1517-ball FC-HFBGA package requires a low-impedance PCB power distribution network (PDN) with decoupling placed both on the BGA side and the opposite PCB side. According to the Stratix IV handbook, the device draws up to 25-35 W typical at full utilization with active transceivers - a multi-rail power solution with 0.9 V core, 1.1 V transceiver PLLs, and 2.5 V/3.0 V auxiliary rails is mandatory. Use discrete high-frequency 0402 ceramics within 5 mm of every power ball, plus bulk polymer capacitors at the regulator output.
Estimated: With 28 Mb memory and 24 transceivers active, the device dissipates 25-35 W typical. The flip-chip FC-HFBGA package's thermal resistance theta-JA on a JEDEC 4-layer test board is approximately 8 C/W with forced airflow of 200 LFM. A heatsink with thermal interface material (TIM) is mandatory at power levels above 20 W. Monitor junction temperature via the on-die temperature sensing diode (TSD) and throttle the design or clock-gate unused transceivers to keep Tj below 100 C for industrial I3 grade.
For 8.5 Gbps links, use 3D electromagnetic simulation (ANSYS HFSS, Cadence Clarity, or Keysight EMPro) on the transceiver channel including via transitions, ball-grid breakout, and any AC-coupling pads. Each Stratix IV GX channel has dedicated pre-emphasis and equalization taps that should be tuned iteratively with IBIS-AMI models at the actual board stack-up; using generic 5-tap settings will leave 2-3 dB of margin on the table. Eye-mask testing at PRBS31 with a BERT validates final compliance.
A frequent mistake is using Quartus Prime 18.0 or later for Stratix IV - support was deprecated after Quartus II 14.1 and many IP cores (especially DDR3 controller and PCIe Gen2) do not compile cleanly on newer toolchains. Stick with Quartus II 13.1 or 14.1 for the Stratix IV family. Also avoid mixing the EP4SGX530KH40I3 with the EP4SGX530KF43I4N on the same PCB - although both have 1517 balls, the KH40 and KF43 ball maps differ, and the configuration pins are not interchangeable. Always double-check the pin assignment against volume 2 of the Stratix IV handbook before PCB tape-out.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance per Altera/Intel product page. AEC-Q100 not applicable - automotive qualification is rare for Stratix IV GX FPGAs. Lead-free finish (N suffix variants) or non-N legacy finishes both available. REACH and halogen-free status not explicitly stated in retrieved data.
