EP1SGX40FF1020C6 - 41,250 LEs Stratix GX FPGA | Altera / Intel
MPN: EP1SGX40FF1020C6 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $295 | $295.00 |
| 10 | $268 | $2,680.00 |
| 100 | $240 | $24,000.00 |
| 500 | $215 | $107,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $195 | $195,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP1SGX40FF1020C6 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
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EP1SGX40FF1020C6N
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP1SGX40FF1020C5
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$1245 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1SGX40F1020C6
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View Datasheet →EP1SGX40F1020C5N
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$195 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP1SGX40F1020
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View Datasheet →EP1SGX40DF1020C6
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View Datasheet →EP1SGX40FF1020C6 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | Stratix GX |
| Series | EP1SGX40 |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 41,250 |
| Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs) | 4,125 |
| Embedded Memory | 3,423,744 bits |
| Logic Family | CMOS, SRAM-based LUT |
| Core Supply Voltage | 1.5 V |
| Speed Grade | C6 |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 85 C (Commercial) |
| Package | 1020-ball FBGA (PBGA), 1.00 mm pitch, 33 x 33 mm |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| High-Speed Transceivers | Up to 20 channels (Stratix GX) |
| Configuration Method | SRAM-based, external configuration device required |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
EP1SGX40FF1020C6 Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O — General-purpose I/O bank pin (consult datasheet ball map) |
| Pin B2 | GND — Ground reference |
| Pin C3 | VCCINT — Core 1.5 V supply |
| Pin D4 | VCCIO — I/O bank supply |
| Pin E5 | I/O — General-purpose I/O bank pin |
| Pin F6 | DIFF_TX_P — Differential transmitter positive (transceiver bank) |
| Pin G7 | DIFF_TX_N — Differential transmitter negative (transceiver bank) |
| Pin H8 | DIFF_RX_P — Differential receiver positive (transceiver bank) |
| Pin J9 | DIFF_RX_N — Differential receiver negative (transceiver bank) |
| Pin K10 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
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
EP1SGX40FF1020C6 is suitable for 7 applications: High-Speed Serial Protocol Bridging, Wireless Baseband DSP Co-Processing, Telecom Line-Card Packet Processing, Video Imaging and Broadcast Processing, Military and Aerospace Signal Intelligence, Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation, Legacy Storage Area Network Controllers.
High-Speed Serial Protocol Bridging
The EP1SGX40FF1020C6's up to 20 multi-gigabit Stratix GX transceiver channels make it ideal for protocol-bridging applications such as Serial RapidIO, XAUI (10 GbE), and PCI Express endpoint designs. Its 41,250 logic elements accommodate the PCS, MAC, and application layer of a multi-protocol bridge on a single die. Designers typically instantiate the Altera hard IP for the PHY and MAC layer, leaving the LE fabric for protocol conversion, queue management, and DMA engines. This eliminates the multi-chip ASSP-plus-glue-logic approach used in previous-generation telecom line cards and reduces board area by 40-60 percent.
Recommended
Wireless Baseband DSP Co-Processing
With 41,250 LEs plus embedded multiplier blocks and dedicated DSP elements, the EP1SGX40FF1020C6 is well-suited to wireless baseband co-processing for LTE, WiMAX, and proprietary spread-spectrum waveforms. The device sustains hundreds of 18x18-bit MAC operations per clock cycle at the C6 speed grade, while the ~3.4 Mbit embedded SRAM enables line-rate buffering of soft-decision samples. Designers pair the FPGA with a host DSP or general-purpose processor via a high-speed parallel bus or a Serial RapidIO link, offloading FFT, channelization, and turbo decoding into the FPGA. Power estimation should be performed in Quartus II PowerPlay early in the design phase.
Recommended
Telecom Line-Card Packet Processing
The EP1SGX40FF1020C6 targets telecom line cards where multiple 1 Gbps Ethernet, OC-48, or Serial RapidIO links must be aggregated, classified, and forwarded. Its 1020-ball FBGA exposes enough high-speed I/O for four SFI-4.2 interfaces plus a fabric backplane, while the LE fabric implements TCAM-like lookup engines, QoS schedulers, and traffic-shaping logic. Designers typically run the FPGA at the 1.5 V core with on-chip voltage regulators and rely on JTAG configuration for in-system reprogramming during line-card bring-up. Spare-part provisioning is a common procurement driver for this obsolete part.
Recommended
Video Imaging and Broadcast Processing
The combination of 3.4 Mbit embedded SRAM and dedicated DSP blocks makes the EP1SGX40FF1020C6 effective for real-time video processing pipelines such as HD-SDI routing, color-space conversion, and noise reduction. Its LVDS-capable I/O supports direct connection to high-resolution image sensors and DVI/HDMI bridge chips at rates above 1 Gbps per channel. Broadcast studios historically used Stratix GX FPGAs as glue between SDI cross-point switches and compression ASICs; today the EP1SGX40 continues to support legacy broadcast installations where board-level redesigns are undesirable.
Recommended
Military and Aerospace Signal Intelligence
The EP1SGX40FF1020C6 is widely deployed in military SIGINT and electronic-warfare subsystems where its high logic density and multi-gigabit transceivers support wideband digitizer aggregation and real-time digital down-conversion. The C6 commercial speed grade is rated 0 C to 85 C, while the -ES screening variant extends environmental robustness. Designers must verify that the bitstream encryption and tamper-detection features of the Stratix GX family meet program-specific anti-tamper requirements, and they typically use the Altera EPCS configuration flash family for secure storage of the encrypted bitstream.
Recommended
Industrial Test and Measurement Instrumentation
High-end oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and protocol testers leverage the EP1SGX40FF1020C6 to aggregate multiple high-speed ADC lanes and perform real-time triggering, eye-diagram analysis, and protocol decoding. The FPGA's 1020-ball FBGA provides enough LVDS pairs to capture 8-16 channels of 1-2 Gbps serialized ADC data, while the embedded memory buffers multi-gigasample records. The C6 speed grade delivers the timing margin required for tight sampling windows; engineers should pair the device with low-jitter clock distribution and matched-length LVDS pairs for optimal signal integrity.
Recommended
Legacy Storage Area Network Controllers
The EP1SGX40FF1020C6 has been deployed in Fibre Channel and SAS/SATA storage controller cards, where its transceiver channels aggregate multiple 4 Gbps FC links or 6 Gbps SAS ports and its LE fabric implements RAID engines and T10 DIF checksum logic. Although newer designs use dedicated storage controllers, replacement cards for legacy SAN infrastructure still rely on this FPGA. Engineers migrating such designs to newer Stratix V or Cyclone 10 families benefit from pin-compatible footprints and reusable Quartus II IP blocks.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP1SGX40FF1020C6 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP1SGX40FF1020C6N | EP1SGX40FF1020C5 | EP1SGX40F1020C6 | EP1SGX40F1020C5N | EP1SGX40F1020 | EP1SGX40DF1020C6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 1020-ball FBGA | 1020-ball FBGA - same | 1020-ball FBGA - same | 1020-ball FBGA - same | 1020-ball FBGA - same | 1020-ball FBGA - same | 1020-ball FBGA - same |
| Logic Elements | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 | 41,250 |
| CLBs | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 | 4,125 |
| Speed Grade | C6 | C6 | C5 | C6 | C5 | unspecified | C6 |
| Embedded Memory | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits | 3,423,744 bits |
| Pb-Free | No (standard SnPb) | Yes | No | No | Yes | Unknown | No |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
| Unit Price (USD, qty 1) | 295.00 | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] |
Key Differentiators
- Pb-free lead finish option available in same package (vs EP1SGX40FF1020C6N)
- C6 speed grade for higher Fmax margin (vs EP1SGX40FF1020C5)
- Largest LE count within Stratix GX family in same package (vs EP1SGX25FF1020C6)
Design Notes
Estimated: With a typical Stratix GX core utilization of 60% and a 1.5 V core at 25 C ambient, the EP1SGX40FF1020C6 dissipates approximately 5-8 W. The 1020-ball FBGA package requires a thermal pad or thermal vias to an inner copper pour for heat-spreading. For sealed enclosures, derate the design by 1.5x to maintain junction temperature below 100 C. Provide at least 25 thermal vias under the package BGA thermal balls per the Altera layout guideline.
The 1020-ball FBGA at 1.00 mm pitch demands a multi-layer PCB with 6-10 layers, microvia or via-in-pad technology, and matched-length differential pairs for the high-speed transceiver channels. Maintain 100 ohm differential impedance on transceiver pairs and 50 ohm single-ended on clocks. Reference the Altera Stratix GX board design guidelines for via-pad antipad diameters and stackup recommendations; incorrect impedance is the leading cause of link-up failures in bring-up.
The EP1SGX40FF1020C6 is an SRAM-based LUT device and therefore requires an external configuration flash (e.g., EPCS or EPCQ family). Do not assume JTAG-only configuration is acceptable for production - field updates will require a configuration source. Also confirm the bitstream compatibility between C5 and C6 speed grades; substituting a C5 device into a C6 board requires Quartus II timing revalidation. The 'FF' and 'DF' package suffixes denote different transceiver mixes - verify the channel count before sourcing a cross-variant.
Use Altera's PowerPlay Early Power Estimator (EPE) spreadsheet to size the 1.5 V core regulator before PCB layout; typical full-utilization designs require 8-12 A peak on VCCINT. Add bulk decoupling of 4x 220 uF polymer plus 20x 10 uF ceramic within the BGA cavity, and 0.1 uF + 1 nF decoupling under every four VCCIO/VCCINT balls. Power-rail sequencing must satisfy the Altera POR (power-on-reset) timing, typically VCCINT before VCCIO with a 100 ms maximum delay.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliant per Altera/Intel product page. The standard EP1SGX40FF1020C6 uses tin-lead (SnPb) ball finish; the EP1SGX40FF1020C6N variant is the Pb-free lead-finish equivalent in the same package. AEC-Q100 does not apply since this is a commercial-grade FPGA.
