EP20K100CT144C8 - APEX-20K 100K Gates FPGA | Altera | 144-LQFP
MPN: EP20K100CT144C8 β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $245 | $245.00 |
| 10 | $230 | $2,300.00 |
| 100 | $215 | $21,500.00 |
| 500 | $198 | $99,000.00 |
| 1,000 | $185 | $185,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K100CT144C8 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:
EP20K100CT144C7
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$9.75 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP20K100CT144C7ES
β Drop-Inβ In Stock
$64 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP20K100CF144C8
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$36 / Unit
View Datasheet βEP20K100CF144C7
β Drop-In β οΈ εζ°εΎ ιͺθ―β In Stock
$28.4 / Unit
View Datasheet βXC2S100-5TQG144
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
XC2S150-5TQG144
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K100CT144C8 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | APEX-20K |
| Manufacturer | Intel (formerly Altera) |
| Product Type | FPGA - Field Programmable Gate Array |
| Number of Logic Elements | 2,640 LEs |
| Typical Gates | 100,000 gates |
| Number of System Gates | 53,248 |
| Embedded RAM Bits | 4,160 bits |
| Number of Embedded System Blocks (ESBs) | 26 ESBs |
| Number of I/O Pins | 93 user I/O |
| Operating Temperature | 0 Β°C to +85 Β°C (Commercial) |
| Speed Grade | -8 |
| Package | 144-LQFP (TQFP) |
| Package Type | Surface Mount, 1.4 mm thickness |
| Pin Pitch | 0.5 mm |
| Configuration Memory | SRAM (volatile) |
| Process Technology | 0.18 Β΅m CMOS |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
EP20K100CT144C8 Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | I/O β User I/O pin (bank-dependent function, see datasheet) |
| Pin 2 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 3 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 4 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 5 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 6 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 7 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 8 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 9 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 10 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 11 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 12 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 13 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 14 | TDI β JTAG Test Data Input |
| Pin 15 | TMS β JTAG Test Mode Select |
| Pin 16 | TCK β JTAG Test Clock |
| Pin 17 | nSTATUS β Configuration status (open-drain, pull-up required) |
| Pin 18 | nCONFIG β Configuration control (active-low, pull-up required) |
| Pin 19 | CONF_DONE β Configuration done (open-drain) |
| Pin 20 | MSEL0 β Configuration mode select 0 |
| Pin 21 | MSEL1 β Configuration mode select 1 |
| Pin 22 | DCLK β Configuration clock input |
| Pin 23 | DATA0 β Configuration data input 0 |
| Pin 24 | nCE β Chip enable (active-low) |
| Pin 25 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 26 | VCCIO1 β I/O bank 1 reference voltage |
| Pin 27 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 28 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 29 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 30 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 31 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 32 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 33 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 34 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 35 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 36 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 37 | VCCIO1 β I/O bank 1 reference voltage |
| Pin 38 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 39 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 40 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 41 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 42 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 43 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 44 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 45 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 46 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 47 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 48 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 49 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 50 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 51 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 52 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 53 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 54 | VCCIO2 β I/O bank 2 reference voltage |
| Pin 55 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 56 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 57 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 58 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 59 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 60 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 61 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 62 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 63 | VCCIO2 β I/O bank 2 reference voltage |
| Pin 64 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 65 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 66 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 67 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 68 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 69 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 70 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 71 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 72 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 73 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 74 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 75 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 76 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 77 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 78 | VCCIO3 β I/O bank 3 reference voltage |
| Pin 79 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 80 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 81 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 82 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 83 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 84 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 85 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 86 | VCCIO3 β I/O bank 3 reference voltage |
| Pin 87 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 88 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 89 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 90 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 91 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 92 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 93 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 94 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 95 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 96 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 97 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 98 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 99 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 100 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 101 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 102 | VCCIO4 β I/O bank 4 reference voltage |
| Pin 103 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 104 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 105 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 106 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 107 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 108 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 109 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 110 | VCCIO4 β I/O bank 4 reference voltage |
| Pin 111 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 112 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 113 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 114 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 115 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 116 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 117 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 118 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 119 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 120 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 121 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 122 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 123 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 124 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 125 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 126 | VCCIO5 β I/O bank 5 reference voltage |
| Pin 127 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 128 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 129 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 130 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 131 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 132 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 133 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 134 | VCCIO5 β I/O bank 5 reference voltage |
| Pin 135 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 136 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 137 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 138 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 139 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 140 | I/O β User I/O pin |
| Pin 141 | VCCINT β Core voltage supply |
| Pin 142 | GND β Ground |
| Pin 143 | TDO β JTAG Test Data Output |
| Pin 144 | I/O β User I/O pin |
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
EP20K100CT144C8 is suitable for 6 applications: PCI / CompactPCI Bus Bridge Logic, ASIC Prototype and Logic Emulation, Telecom Line-Card Interface Logic, Industrial Control and PLC Backplane Glue, DSP Co-Processor for Legacy Systems, Test and Measurement Backplane Controllers.
PCI / CompactPCI Bus Bridge Logic
The EP20K100CT144C8's 93 user I/O pins and PCI 3.3 V I/O standard support make it well suited to CompactPCI and PCI bridge glue logic on legacy industrial backplanes. With 100,000 typical gates and 4,160 bits of embedded RAM, the device can hold a complete PCI target state machine plus payload FIFO without external memory, while the -8 speed grade provides sufficient margin for 33 MHz PCI timing. Engineers typically instantiate the design in Quartus and rely on the 144-LQFP package's 1.4 mm body for backplane-friendly through-hole-friendly soldering.
Recommended
ASIC Prototype and Logic Emulation
Low-volume ASIC prototypes and pre-silicon logic validation benefit from the EP20K100CT144C8's 2,640 LEs and SRAM-based configuration, which allows unlimited design-iteration cycles through JTAG reconfiguration. The 26 ESBs supply enough embedded RAM for register files and small lookup tables, while the 144-LQFP footprint is convenient for hand-soldered engineering builds. Quartus synthesis tooling provides timing closure against the -8 speed grade, and engineers can compare functional behaviour against gate-level ASIC simulation with minimal concern about I/O voltage mismatches thanks to mixed-voltage I/O bank support.
Recommended
Telecom Line-Card Interface Logic
Legacy telecom line cards and T1/E1 framer interfaces often rely on APEX-20K FPGAs to provide HDLC framing, elastic-store buffering, and backplane glue logic between framer ASICs and switch fabrics. The EP20K100CT144C8's 4,160 RAM bits map cleanly onto small elastic-store FIFOs (typically 16Γ8 per E1/T1 channel), while its 93 I/O pins are sufficient for up to four framers plus housekeeping LEDs and JTAG. The -8 commercial speed grade meets 1.544 MHz / 2.048 MHz timing budgets comfortably, and the 144-LQFP package is compatible with the legacy ATCA/cPCI card form factors still deployed in central offices.
Recommended
Industrial Control and PLC Backplane Glue
PLC backplanes and industrial control modules use the EP20K100CT144C8 to implement fieldbus glue logic, encoder counters, and PWM modulation between microcontrollers and high-voltage drivers. Its 0 Β°C to +85 Β°C commercial temperature range matches indoor control cabinet environments, while the 144-LQFP package is rugged enough for vibration-prone industrial mounting when paired with proper PCB stiffeners. Designers use the 26 ESBs for encoder-capture FIFOs and the 2,640 LEs for ladder-logic acceleration, often offloading the host microcontroller entirely for hard-real-time control loops.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processor for Legacy Systems
The EP20K100CT144C8 can serve as a fixed-point DSP co-processor for legacy microcontrollers lacking hardware multipliers, accelerating FIR/IIR filters, FFT butterflies, and CRC calculations. The 4,160 embedded RAM bits hold coefficient tables and sample buffers, while the 2,640 LEs implement parallel multiply-accumulate trees that deliver 30-50 MOPS in pure LUT logic. When paired with a host MCU via an external memory bus or SPI, the -8 speed grade closes 50 MHz DSP datapath timing with comfortable margin.
Recommended
Test and Measurement Backplane Controllers
ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) and bench-instrument backplanes frequently integrate the EP20K100CT144C8 to time-multiplex digital channels, manage trigger sequencing, and aggregate UART/SPI/GPIB data streams. The 93 user I/O pins are enough for one 32-bit digital channel plus four serial-bus controllers plus JTAG scan, and the 26 ESBs provide per-channel capture FIFOs. Mixed-voltage I/O bank support lets the same device interface 3.3 V logic and 5 V analog front-ends without level shifters.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K100CT144C8 β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K100CT144C7 | EP20K100CT144C7ES | EP20K100CF144C8 | XC2S100-5TQG144 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 144-LQFP (TQFP), 0.5 mm pitch | 144-LQFP (TQFP) - same | 144-LQFP (TQFP) - same | 144-LQFP (TQFP) - same | 144-TQG (TQFP, 0.5 mm pitch) - same pitch, different pinout |
| Brand | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Intel (Altera) | Xilinx (AMD) |
| Typical Gates | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| Speed Grade | -8 | -7 (slower) | -7 ES | -8 | -5 |
| Logic Elements | 2,640 LEs | 2,640 LEs | 2,640 LEs | 2,640 LEs | 1,800 logic cells (approx) |
| User I/O Pins | 93 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 92 |
| Embedded RAM | 4,160 bits (26 ESBs) | 4,160 bits | 4,160 bits | 4,160 bits | 38,400 bits (block RAM) |
| Process Technology | 0.18 Β΅m CMOS SRAM | 0.18 Β΅m CMOS SRAM | 0.18 Β΅m CMOS SRAM | 0.18 Β΅m CMOS SRAM | 0.18 Β΅m SRAM |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete (engineering sample) | Obsolete | Obsolete |
| 1-piece Price (USD) | 245.00 (as of 2026-09-07) | ~195.00 (as of 2026-09-07) | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] |
Key Differentiators
- Faster speed grade (-8) for tight PCI and backplane timing (vs EP20K100CT144C7)
- Established 144-LQFP package with mature ecosystem (vs XC2S100-5TQG144)
- Embedded MultiCore architecture with 26 ESBs (vs XC2S100-5TQG144)
Design Notes
The APEX-20K family uses volatile SRAM configuration memory, so the EP20K100CT144C8 must be paired with a non-volatile boot source - either an EPC1/EPC2/EPC4 configuration PROM, a microcontroller-driven JTAG loader, or a hosted passive-serial stream from a host CPU. Without a valid configuration source at power-up, the device will remain in reset (CONF_DONE low, nSTATUS low) and all I/O will be tri-stated. Verify boot sequencing with a logic analyser before functional testing.
Decouple each VCCINT and VCCIO pin with at least one 0.1 Β΅F X7R ceramic capacitor placed within 5 mm of the pin, plus one bulk 10-47 Β΅F tantalum or polymer capacitor per voltage rail near the device. Five separate VCCIO banks are present on the 144-LQFP package, each requiring independent decoupling to prevent switching-noise coupling into the core logic. Estimated: at 100 MHz internal operation with 93 I/O toggling, total supply current draw is approximately 200-300 mA on VCCINT and up to 100 mA per VCCIO bank.
Route the JTAG chain (TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO) with 4-8 mil traces over a continuous ground plane, keeping total trace length under 50 mm to maintain signal integrity at 10-33 MHz TCK. Add 10 kΞ© pull-up resistors on nCONFIG, nSTATUS, and CONF_DONE per APEX-20K handbook recommendation, and place an external 33 Ξ© series resistor on TCK near the FPGA if multiple devices share the JTAG chain. Keep high-speed LVDS/PCI signals away from the JTAG pins to avoid coupling.
The 144-LQFP package has a thermal resistance of approximately 35 Β°C/W (theta_JA) with 4-layer JEDEC PCB and minimal airflow. At typical 100K-gate utilisation running at 50 MHz with 50% toggle rate, internal power dissipation is estimated at 0.5-1.0 W, yielding a 17-35 Β°C junction temperature rise above ambient. For sealed enclosures or industrial temperature operation, plan copper-pour cooling or attach a small clip-on heatsink. Verify with a thermal probe during prototype bring-up.
Five VCCIO banks allow mixed-voltage interfacing, but each bank must be assigned a single, fixed voltage (3.3 V, 2.5 V, 1.8 V, 5 V-tolerant input, etc.). Mixing incompatible standards within one bank can cause bus contention and permanent damage. Engineers must consult the APEX-20K device handbook pin-out table for the T144 package to map each of the 93 user I/O pins to its bank before PCB layout. Source: APEX-20K datasheet, chapter "I/O Bank Assignments".
Compliance Information
APEX-20K family predates the widespread RoHS transition. RoHS, REACH, lead-free, and halogen-free status are not confirmed in the provided data - marked as [DATA_NEEDED]. Part is obsolete.
