EP1S40B956C6 - Stratix FPGA, 41,250 Cells, BGA-956 | Intel
MPN: EP1S40B956C6 β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1306.98 | $1,306.98 |
| 10 | $1280 | $12,800.00 |
| 100 | $1215.5 | $121,550.00 |
| 500 | $1148 | $574,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $1078.4 | $1,078,400.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1S40B956C6 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:
EP1S40B956C6N
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$1050 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1S40B956C7
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1S40B956C8
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1S40B956I6
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―π Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1S30B956C6
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$78 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP1S40B956C6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix |
| Logic Elements / Cells | 41,250 |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 4,125 |
| CLB Equivalents / Registers | 46,970 |
| User I/O Pins | 683 |
| Package | BGA-956 (956-BBGA, FCBGA) |
| Package Size | 40 x 40 mm |
| Ball Pitch | 1.27 mm |
| Speed Grade | 6 (commercial, slowest) |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to 85C |
| Logic Family | CMOS |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Process Technology | 0.13 um CMOS |
| Embedded Memory | TriMatrix (M512, M4K, M-RAM blocks) |
| DSP Blocks | Embedded multiplier blocks |
| PLLs | Multiple phase-locked loops |
| Lead-Free / RoHS | Per Altera/Intel datasheet |
EP1S40B956C6 40 x 40 mm Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP1S40B956C6 (40 x 40 mm package) with 683 pins. 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 EP1S40B956C6.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Estimated pin count: 683 pins (digital package)
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
EP1S40B956C6 is suitable for 7 applications: High-Performance Digital Signal Processing, Telecommunications Line Cards, ASIC Prototyping, Video and Image Processing Pipelines, Industrial Control and Automation, Embedded Processor Subsystems, Test and Measurement Instrumentation.
High-Performance Digital Signal Processing
The EP1S40B956C6's 41,250 logic cells and embedded DSP multiplier blocks make it a strong fit for high-performance DSP systems such as radar baseband processing, software-defined radio front-ends, and multi-channel audio/video codecs. With 4,125 LABs the device can host hundreds of parallel multiplier-accumulator engines, while the TriMatrix memory hierarchy (M512/M4K/M-RAM) keeps data close to computation for low-latency FFTs and filters. The 956-ball BGA exposes 683 user I/Os, allowing direct attachment to high-speed parallel ADCs and DACs without external muxing. Designers targeting this application should use Quartus II's DSP Builder to map math functions into dedicated DSP blocks, reserving logic cells for control and glue.
Recommended
Telecommunications Line Cards
The 683 user I/O pins of the EP1S40B956C6 support multiple parallel telecom interfaces such as LVDS, LVPECL, and HSTL buses, enabling aggregation of OC-48/STM-16 traffic or 10 Gigabit Ethernet MAC functions in 2004-era line cards. The embedded TriMatrix memory blocks provide the per-port buffers and lookup tables required for cell/frame processing. Its multiple PLLs allow frequency synthesis for different backplane speeds (155/622 MHz) and oversampling clocks. For SONET/SDH or packet-switch fabrics the -6 speed grade is sufficient for up to ~250 MHz internal operation, while designers needing more margin select the -7 or -8 grade EP1S40B956C7/EP1S40B956C8 pin-compatible variants.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping
With 41,250 logic cells and abundant TriMatrix memory, the EP1S40B956C6 has historically been used to prototype ASIC RTL in FPGA form, allowing pre-silicon validation of designs destined for sub-90 nm ASIC processes. The 683 user I/O and BGA-956 footprint permit mapping wide internal ASIC buses to off-chip verification headers, JTAG, and memory buses. Quartus II's incremental compilation and LogicLock regions allow the prototype to be partitioned to mirror the planned ASIC block diagram, easing migration from prototype to silicon. Engineers use this part because it provides a balance of logic capacity, memory, and I/O - more headroom than Stratix EP1S20/EP1S25 but cheaper than the EP1S60/EP1S80.
Recommended
Video and Image Processing Pipelines
Real-time video processing (HD-SDI, DVI/HDMI pre-processing, motion estimation, color-space conversion) benefits from the EP1S40B956C6's combination of DSP blocks, embedded multipliers, and wide on-chip memory. With 4,125 LABs the device can run multiple parallel pixel pipelines at 148.5 MHz (HD-SDI) or 165 MHz (1080p), while the M4K and M-RAM blocks store line buffers and frame contexts. The 683 user I/O balls accommodate the 24- to 48-bit wide parallel buses needed for uncompressed video plus audio and control side-channels. Camera and broadcast OEMs deployed this Stratix generation between 2002 and 2010 as a flexible DSP+control platform.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Automation
Industrial control systems require deterministic real-time processing with extensive I/O for sensors and actuators; the EP1S40B956C6's 683 I/O and abundant LABs support multi-axis motor control, deterministic Ethernet (EtherCAT, PROFINET), and high-speed ADC interfacing. Industrial-grade variants like EP1S40B956I6 extend the operating range to -40C to 100C, supporting factory-floor deployments. The device's multiple PLLs enable synchronization of multiple motors or generators, and its embedded memory allows real-time buffering of high-speed ADC samples. This makes the part suitable for servo drives, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and machine vision inspection systems.
Recommended
Embedded Processor Subsystems
The EP1S40B956C6 can host soft-core processors (Altera Nios II, MicroBlaze-equivalent) alongside custom hardware accelerators, enabling an SoC-style design within a single FPGA. The 41,250 cells comfortably fit a Nios II/f core plus peripherals, on-chip memory, and a hardware accelerator block for cryptographic, signal-processing, or networking workloads. External memory interfaces (DDR/DDR2 SDRAM controllers) are supported through dedicated PHY blocks and the high I/O count of the BGA-956. This makes the part a flexible platform for embedded computing in test equipment, network appliances, and industrial gateways.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Instrumentation
Test instruments such as logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and arbitrary waveform generators rely on the EP1S40B956C6's combination of high logic capacity and very wide parallel I/O to capture or generate hundreds of signals simultaneously. The TriMatrix memory and embedded DSP blocks allow real-time pattern matching, Fast Fourier Transform analysis, and digital signal synthesis in a single device. Its 683 I/O support direct attachment to high-pin-count probe fixtures, and the 1.5 V core with multiple I/O standards (LVTTL, LVCMOS, SSTL, HSTL) enables interfacing with both modern and legacy DUTs. The -6 speed grade is appropriate for instrumentation up to ~250 MHz state rates.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1S40B956C6 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1S40B956C6N | EP1S40B956C7 | EP1S40B956I6 | EP1S30B956C6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Package | BGA-956 (40 x 40 mm, 1.27 mm pitch) | BGA-956 (40 x 40 mm, 1.27 mm pitch) | BGA-956 (40 x 40 mm, 1.27 mm pitch) | BGA-956 (40 x 40 mm, 1.27 mm pitch) | BGA-956 (40 x 40 mm, 1.27 mm pitch) |
| Logic Cells | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 33,880 |
| Speed Grade | -6 | -6 | -7 | -6 | -6 |
| User I/O Pins | 683 | 683 | 683 | 683 | 683 |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to 85C (commercial) | 0C to 85C (commercial) | 0C to 85C (commercial) | -40C to 100C (industrial) | 0C to 85C (commercial) |
| Core Voltage | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V | 1.5 V |
| Logic Array Blocks (LABs) | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 3,388 |
| RoHS Compliance | Per datasheet (variant dependent) | Yes (lead-free) | Per datasheet | Per datasheet | Per datasheet |
Key Differentiators
- Highest-density member of the original Stratix family in BGA-956 (vs EP1S30B956C6)
- Wide selection of pin-compatible speed and temperature grades (vs EP1S40B956C6N (RoHS) and EP1S40B956C7 (faster))
- Mature Quartus II toolchain support (vs ASIC at similar capacity)
Design Notes
The 40 x 40 mm BGA-956 package concentrates thermal output across a large footprint; engineers should estimate FPGA junction temperature using the Altera PowerPlay early-power estimator (typical Stratix -6 grade devices dissipate 3-8 W depending on toggle rate and block utilization). For high-utilization designs consider a 4-layer PCB with a ground plane directly beneath the BGA, thermal vias under the die flag, and a low-profile heatsink if junction-to-ambient exceeds 60C. Industrial-temperature EP1S40B956I6 variants extend to -40C to 100C for harsh environments.
Escape the 1.27 mm pitch BGA-956 grid using a 4-2-4-2-4 microvia stack-up on a high-Tg FR-4 or low-loss PCB substrate. Each BGA ball requires a fanout via, so plan at least 8 inner signal layers for the escape plus dedicated VCCINT, VCCIO, and GND planes. Length-match DDR/DDR2 interfaces within +/-25 ps and use 50-ohm controlled-impedance traces for HSTL/SSTL. Decouple each power pin with 0.1 uF X7R ceramic caps placed as close to the ball as possible.
Because the part is NRND, confirm with the Intel/Altera Product Discontinuance notices that the EP1S40B956C6 is still orderable and not in last-time-buy status before committing to a long-life program. For new designs, migrate to a current-generation Stratix II, III, IV, V, or Stratix 10 device. When upgrading to the EP1S40B956C7 or EP1S40B956C8 (faster speed grades), re-run timing analysis - higher speed grades relax setup slack but do not change pinout or power requirements.
Place JTAG chain components (TCK/TMS/TDO/TDI pull-ups and the 4.7 kohm series resistors) within 25 mm of the configuration balls to avoid signal integrity issues. The configuration clock DCLK and data lines DATA[7:0] must be length-matched to within 100 mils if running at >50 MHz for fast passive serial configuration. For multi-device JTAG chains, add 33-ohm series damping resistors near each device's TDO output.
Compliance Information
RoHS/REACH per Intel/Altera legacy documentation. Lead-free and halogen-free per Intel materials declaration. AEC-Q100 not applicable for FPGAs. The C6N suffix explicitly indicates lead-free RoHS compliance per FindIC cross-reference data.
