EP20K100CF324C9 - APEX II FPGA 100K LE, 246 I/O, 324-FBGA | Intel
MPN: EP20K100CF324C9 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $95 | $95.00 |
| 10 | $88.5 | $885.00 |
| 100 | $82 | $8,200.00 |
| 500 | $76.5 | $38,250.00 |
| 1,000 | $71 | $71,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K100CF324C9 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
EP20K100CF324C8
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$50 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K100CF324C8ES
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$175 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K100CF324C7
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$27.8 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K100CF324C7ES
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$52.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →EP20K100CF324C9 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | APEX II |
| Family | APEX 20K |
| Logic Elements | 4160 |
| Typical Gates | 100000 |
| Maximum User I/O | 246 |
| Package | 324-FBGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (Commercial) |
| Speed Grade | -9 (C9) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Core Voltage | 1.8 V (typical, APEX II) |
| I/O Voltage Support | 2.5 V / 3.3 V |
| Configuration Interface | JTAG (IEEE 1149.1) / Passive serial |
| Embedded System Blocks | Yes (ESB for RAM/ROM/CAM) |
EP20K100CF324C9 324-fbga (fineline bga) Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for EP20K100CF324C9 (324-fbga (fineline bga) 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 EP20K100CF324C9.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
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
EP20K100CF324C9 is suitable for 7 applications: Telecommunications Line Cards, Networking Switch and Router Glue Logic, Industrial Control and Instrumentation, ASIC Prototyping and Emulation, Legacy Military and Aerospace Avionics, Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Equipment, Print Engine and Image Processing Pipelines.
Telecommunications Line Cards
The EP20K100CF324C9 fits legacy telecom line-card designs where 100K gates of logic plus 246 I/O are sufficient for protocol framing, timeslot management, and glue logic between network processors and PHYs. The APEX II embedded system blocks implement small FIFOs and lookup tables for routing tables without consuming general logic, while the 324-FBGA package places JTAG, clock, and parallel bus signals close together to simplify board layout in high-density backplane designs.
Recommended
Networking Switch and Router Glue Logic
In mid-range networking switches and routers, the EP20K100CF324C9 implements bus bridges between switch fabrics, TCAM interfaces, and management processors. The 246 user I/O pins handle wide parallel buses and high-speed control signals, while embedded system blocks serve as packet-buffer descriptors and route-lookup tables. Quartus timing closure at speed grade -9 supports the deterministic latency needed for line-rate packet processing in legacy designs.
Recommended
Industrial Control and Instrumentation
The EP20K100CF324C9 is well suited to industrial controllers, motor drives, and test instruments that already run on APEX II firmware. Its 1.8 V core plus 3.3 V/2.5 V I/O rails integrate directly with legacy ADC/DAC front-ends and parallel LCD interfaces, and the 246 I/O budget accommodates abundant digital status and control channels. Industrial designs benefit from the deterministic LUT-and-carry fabric for real-time control loops and PWM generation.
Recommended
ASIC Prototyping and Emulation
Designers use APEX II FPGAs like the EP20K100CF324C9 as ASIC prototypes because the LUT-based fabric with embedded memory blocks maps well to gate-level netlists. The 100K-gate capacity handles mid-complexity ASICs in single-chip prototyping, while the JTAG interface supports fast bitstream loading during regression tests. Quartus synthesis from HDL provides a stable prototype path before committing to mask-programmed ASIC production.
Recommended
Legacy Military and Aerospace Avionics
Long-lifecycle military and aerospace platforms still maintain APEX II-based subsystems, where the EP20K100CF324C9 implements radar signal pre-processing, flight-control glue logic, and MIL-STD-1553 bus bridges. The FineLine BGA package provides mechanical robustness and the commercial temperature range covers many avionics bay environments. Obsolescence management relies on channel inventory plus same-package speed-grade variants for forward-fit spares.
Recommended
Medical Imaging and Diagnostic Equipment
Legacy medical imaging systems such as ultrasound front-ends and patient monitors integrate APEX II FPGAs for digital signal preprocessing and parallel image data routing. The EP20K100CF324C9's embedded system blocks serve as line buffers and lookup tables for gamma correction, while the 246 I/O pins interface with high-resolution ADCs and LCD displays. Existing FDA-cleared designs depend on continued availability of this part for service and replacement.
Recommended
Print Engine and Image Processing Pipelines
High-speed commercial printers and image-processing pipelines use APEX II FPGAs to implement parallel datapaths for rasterization and color correction. The EP20K100CF324C9's 100K gates and embedded system blocks support line-buffer memory and color-lookup-table RAM, while 246 I/O pins accommodate parallel pixel buses and engine-control interfaces. Quartus-based design flow allows rapid feature iteration across printer model variants.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K100CF324C9 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K100CF324C8 | EP20K100CF324C8ES | EP20K100CF324C7 | EP20K100CF324C7ES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Intel (formerly Altera) | Intel | Intel | Intel | Intel |
| Package | 324-FBGA | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same | 324-FBGA - same |
| Family | APEX II | APEX II | APEX II | APEX II | APEX II |
| Typical Gates | 100000 | 100000 | 100000 | 100000 | 100000 |
| Logic Elements | 4160 | 4160 | 4160 | 4160 | 4160 |
| Maximum User I/O | 246 | 246 | 246 | 246 | 246 |
| Speed Grade | -9 (C9) | -8 (C8) | -8 (C8 ES) | -7 (C7) | -7 (C7 ES) |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete (ES) | Obsolete | Obsolete (ES) |
| Variant Type | Production | Production | Engineering Sample | Production | Engineering Sample |
Key Differentiators
- Highest speed grade in the APEX II EP20K100 family (vs EP20K100CF324C7)
- Production-grade qualification versus engineering sample status (vs EP20K100CF324C8ES)
- 100K-gate APEX II in 324-FBGA for legacy telecom designs (vs EP20K100CB356C9)
Design Notes
Estimated: The APEX II core runs on 1.8 V (VCCINT) and I/O banks on 2.5 V or 3.3 V (VCCIO). Decouple each supply rail with 0.1 uF ceramic capacitors placed within 5 mm of every supply pin, plus bulk 47-100 uF tantalum or polymer capacitors at the regulator output. Use a low-dropout linear regulator for VCCINT to minimize core-voltage ripple, which directly affects JTAG configuration reliability.
The 324-FBGA FineLine BGA package requires 0.8 mm or 1.0 mm pitch escape routing. Use 4-layer or 6-layer stack-up with dedicated ground and power planes. Fan out the outer rows with microvias (laser-drilled, 0.1 mm pad) to inner signal layers. Keep matched-length pairs within 150 mil skew and isolate clock traces from JTAG and configuration signals to avoid coupling noise into the configuration engine.
Common pitfalls when using APEX II include: (1) failing to level-shift JTAG signals if the host runs at 1.8 V while VCCIO is 3.3 V, (2) using passive serial configuration without a configuration PROM, which loses the bitstream at power-down, (3) ignoring the I/O bank VCCIO grouping - mixing 2.5 V and 3.3 V inputs in the same bank can damage input buffers. Always consult the APEX II datasheet Pin Information section before laying out the board.
Although APEX II static power is modest at 100K-gate utilization, dynamic power scales with toggle rate and clock frequency. Estimated: at 100 MHz with 50% utilization across all 4,160 logic elements, expect 1-2 W dissipation. The 324-FBGA package has a typical theta_JA of 15-20 C/W with proper thermal via array under the package, giving a junction temperature rise of 30-40 C above ambient at full load.
Compliance Information
Compliance data not available in the verified web sources. APEX II devices predate widespread RoHS documentation on distributor pages; for new RoHS-critical designs, request a compliance certificate directly from the distributor or from Intel Programmable Solutions.
