EP20K100EFC324-1N - APEX-20KE FPGA 100K Gates 246 I/O | Altera
MPN: EP20K100EFC324-1N β End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $185 | $185.00 |
| 10 | $165 | $1,650.00 |
| 100 | $142 | $14,200.00 |
| 500 | $125 | $62,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $108 | $108,000.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for EP20K100EFC324-1N 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:
EP20K100EFC324-2
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K100EFC324-1X
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K100EFC324-3
β Drop-Inπ Reference alternative (not in catalog)
EP20K100EFC324-1N Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Family | APEX-20KE |
| Device Type | FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) |
| Logic Elements (LEs) | 4160 |
| Typical Gates | 100,000 |
| Maximum User I/O | 246 |
| Embedded System Blocks (ESBs) | 53248 bits |
| Package | 324-BGA (FineLine BGA) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 85 C |
| Propagation Delay | 1.6 ns |
| Internal Operating Frequency | 250 MHz |
| Core Voltage | 1.8 V |
| I/O Standard Support | LVDS, SSTL, HSTL, LVTTL, LVCMOS |
| Process Technology | 0.15 Β΅m all-layer copper CMOS |
| JTAG Support | IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan |
| Programming Technology | SRAM-based (volatile, requires configuration device) |
| MultiVolt I/O | 1.8 V core with 3.3 V / 5.0 V I/O support |
EP20K100EFC324-1N Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin B2 | I/O Bank 1 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin C3 | I/O Bank 2 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin D4 | I/O Bank 2 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin E5 | VCCINT β Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin F6 | GND β Ground |
| Pin G7 | I/O Bank 3 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin H8 | I/O Bank 3 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin J9 | I/O Bank 4 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin K10 | I/O Bank 4 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin L11 | VCCIO β I/O supply (bank-specific) |
| Pin M12 | I/O Bank 5 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin N13 | I/O Bank 5 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin P14 | I/O Bank 6 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin R15 | I/O Bank 6 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin T16 | VCCINT β Core supply 1.8 V |
| Pin U17 | GND β Ground |
| Pin V18 | I/O Bank 7 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin W19 | I/O Bank 7 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
| Pin Y20 | I/O Bank 8 β User I/O (MultiVolt, banked VCCIO) |
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
EP20K100EFC324-1N is suitable for 6 applications: Telecommunications Line-Card Datapath, High-Speed Data Acquisition Front-End, Network Switch and Router Control Plane, DSP Co-Processing Engine, Industrial Motor Control and Servo Drive, Legacy Avionics and Test Equipment.
Telecommunications Line-Card Datapath
The EP20K100EFC324-1N's 4,160 logic elements and 246 user I/Os at 250 MHz operation make it well suited to telecommunications line-card datapath processing. The 53,248 bits of embedded memory (ESB) handle ATM cell buffers and HDLC framing without external SRAM, reducing BOM cost and PCB area. The 324-FBGA package's high I/O density supports 16-bit LVDS datapaths to TDM framer ICs, while the deterministic APEX interconnect model simplifies static timing closure on long packet-pipelines. With 1.8 V VCCINT and MultiVolt I/O banks, designers can interface directly to 3.3 V framer logic without level shifters, which historically made APEX-20KE a common choice in legacy SONET/SDH and PDH line cards.
Recommended
High-Speed Data Acquisition Front-End
The EP20K100EFC324-1N is well matched to high-speed data-acquisition front-ends requiring parallel DSP pipelines. The 1.6 ns propagation delay and 250 MHz internal clock support FIR filter and FFT butterfly operations at line rate, while 53,248 bits of ESB memory serve as coefficient storage and ping-pong buffers. The 246 I/Os accept wide parallel LVDS buses from front-end ADCs, and the SRAM-based configuration allows in-system reconfiguration between acquisition modes (e.g., radar vs. sonar profiles). With MultiVolt I/O the FPGA interfaces directly to 3.3 V ADC/DAC logic. Note that the part is obsolete and recommended only for maintaining existing deployed systems rather than new designs.
Recommended
Network Switch and Router Control Plane
The EP20K100EFC324-1N fits network switch and router control-plane applications that need moderate logic density, abundant I/O for management Ethernet MACs, and fast table lookup. The 53,248-bit ESB memory supports small TCAM-like routing tables and ARP caches, while the LAB/LE fabric accelerates header parsing and ACL matching. LVDS-capable I/Os connect to backplane SerDes without external glue logic. The 1.8 V core and 0.15 Β΅m CMOS process keep quiescent power modest even at 250 MHz operation, important for high-density line-card designs. The APEX-20KE device has been widely deployed in legacy L2/L3 switches, where it continues to operate reliably despite the obsolete lifecycle status.
Recommended
DSP Co-Processing Engine
The EP20K100EFC324-1N serves as a DSP co-processor to a host CPU or DSP chip in applications such as baseband processing, image preprocessing, and audio codecs. With 4,160 LEs and 250 MHz internal operation, the device sustains multiply-accumulate (MAC) throughput suitable for fixed-point FIR/IIR filtering and small FFT kernels. The ESB blocks provide ping-pong coefficient buffers, while the 246 I/Os form a wide host-side parallel bus (e.g., 32-bit datapath plus DMA handshaking). Designers historically combined APEX-20KE with TI TMS320C6x DSPs for software-radio receiver channels, taking advantage of MultiVolt I/O to connect 1.8 V core to 3.3 V DSP without level shifters.
Recommended
Industrial Motor Control and Servo Drive
The EP20K100EFC324-1N is suitable for industrial motor control and servo-drive applications, where its deterministic timing model and abundant I/Os handle multi-axis PWM generation, encoder quadrature decoding, and field-oriented control (FOC) math. The 250 MHz operation and 1.6 ns combinational delay enable fast current-loop update rates, while 53,248 ESB bits store sine/cosine lookup tables and observer state. The 0-85 C commercial operating temperature range covers most factory-floor enclosures. MultiVolt I/O simplifies interfacing to 5 V gate-driver ICs from the FPGA's 1.8 V core. For new designs in 2026, modern motor-control MCUs are preferred, but APEX-20KE remains a viable drop-in on legacy servo amplifiers.
Recommended
Legacy Avionics and Test Equipment
The EP20K100EFC324-1N is found in long-lifecycle avionics test equipment and military instrumentation, where re-qualification of an FPGA platform is prohibitively expensive. The 324-FBGA package, 246 I/Os, and 250 MHz performance are well matched to MIL-STD-1553 / ARINC 429 interface boards, radar-signal simulators, and protocol analyzers. JTAG IEEE 1149.1 boundary-scan support aids board-level test, while the SRAM-based configuration allows in-the-field reconfiguration for new test scenarios. Designers maintaining such equipment benefit from the broad remaining distributor inventory of -1N speed-grade parts; new programs should target radiation-tolerant FPGAs such as Microsemi RTG4 or Xilinx Kintex UltraSpace.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP20K100EFC324-1N β comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP20K100EFC324-2 | EP20K100EFC324-1X | EP20K100EFC324-3 | EP20K100EBC652-2X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 324-FBGA (FineLine BGA) | 324-FBGA (FineLine BGA) - same | 324-FBGA (FineLine BGA) - same | 324-FBGA (FineLine BGA) - same | 652-BGA - different footprint |
| Brand | Altera | Altera - same | Altera - same | Altera - same | Altera - same |
| Family / Logic Capacity | APEX-20KE / 100K gates / 4,160 LEs | APEX-20KE / 100K gates / 4,160 LEs - identical | APEX-20KE / 100K gates / 4,160 LEs - identical | APEX-20KE / 100K gates / 4,160 LEs - identical | APEX-20KE / 100K gates / 4,160 LEs - identical die |
| Speed Grade | -1N (slowest) | -2 (mid) | -1X (industrial temp, similar speed) | -3 (fastest) | -2X (mid, industrial) |
| User I/O | 246 | 246 | 246 | 246 | [DATA_NEEDED] (652-BGA, more I/O) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 C to 85 C (commercial) | 0 C to 85 C | -40 C to 100 C (industrial, X grade) | 0 C to 85 C | -40 C to 100 C (industrial) |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
| Internal Frequency | 250 MHz | ~285 MHz (~+14%) | ~250 MHz (same) | ~325 MHz (~+30%) | ~285 MHz |
| Core Voltage | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V | 1.8 V |
Key Differentiators
- Same-package drop-in with identical die across all APEX-20KE speed grades (vs EP20K100EFC324-2 vs EP20K100EFC324-1N)
- Industrial-temperature -1X variant for harsh environments (vs EP20K100EFC324-1X vs EP20K100EFC324-1N)
- Fastest speed grade within the same package (vs EP20K100EFC324-3 vs EP20K100EFC324-1N)
- Mature 246-I/O count at 1.8 V core with MultiVolt I/O flexibility (vs EP20K100EFC324-1N vs EP20K100EBC652-2X)
Design Notes
The 324-FBGA package dissipates roughly 1-2 W at full 250 MHz operation with all 246 I/Os toggling. Place 4 thermal vias per BGA pad on a 1.2 mm pitch grid in a 4-layer PCB stack-up, with an unbroken inner-plane copper pour under the device. Reference the APEX-20KE datasheet thermal-resistance model (theta_JA ~15 C/W with 4-layer JEDEC board) and confirm worst-case junction rise against the 0-85 C commercial spec. Hot-spot identification via IR scan is recommended for closed-enclosure designs.
The 324-ball FineLine BGA on 1.27 mm pitch requires laser-drilled microvias (typical 6 mil pad / 12 mil drill) on a high-density interconnect stack-up. Route 50 Ξ© controlled-impedance traces for LVDS pairs (differential 100 Ξ©) and provide ground-coplanar waveguide structures with continuous ground return vias every 200 mil. Decouple each VCCINT ball with a 0.1 Β΅F X7R capacitor placed within 100 mil of the pin; bulk 10 Β΅F ceramic + 47 Β΅F tantalum on each VCCIO bank. Match trace lengths within 50 mil on synchronous buses to preserve APEX-20KE's deterministic timing.
Because the EP20K100EFC324-1N is SRAM-based, it loses configuration when VCCINT drops below POR threshold (~1.5 V). Always include an EPC configuration device (e.g., EPC2, EPC16) or flash-based controller and verify MSEL pin strapping for the chosen configuration mode. Watch for VCCIO bank-mixing violations: a 5 V-tolerant bank cannot drive 3.3 V LVCMOS if VCCIO is set to 5 V (use VCCIO = 3.3 V bank to drive 3.3 V receivers). Also note that JTAG TCK should be pulled to known state during power-up to avoid inadvertent configuration.
Differential-pair length matching within 100 mil is required for LVDS receivers (TCLK skew) on the APEX-20KE. Reference the device-specific pinout addendum for the dedicated LVDS clock pair (DIFFIO_TCLK_p/n) versus LVDS data pairs (DIFFIO_TX_p/n, DIFFIO_RX_p/n). Avoid routing LVDS across split power planes, and stitch ground vias every Ξ»/20 of the highest LVDS harmonic to maintain return-path continuity. Use 4-layer stack-up with dedicated VCCINT and VCCIO planes for clean power delivery to the 324-ball grid.
At 250 MHz internal operation, signal-integrity analysis is required on all buses longer than ~50 mm. Use IBIS models (Altera published APEX20KE IBIS files) for SI simulation in HyperLynx or Mentor Graphics. Series-stagger 33 Ξ© damping resistors on SSTL/HSTL outputs if overshoot exceeds 10%. Account for the 1.8 V VCCINT's lower noise margin versus legacy 5 V CMOS - 50 mV of VCCINT ripple directly modulates LE delay and may cause hold-time failures on long routes.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliance per Altera/Intel product page (legacy APEX-20KE family transitioned to lead-free packaging before end-of-life). Not AEC-Q100 qualified (FPGAs are typically not AEC-Q100; automotive FPGAs use different part numbers).
