EP4CE15F17C7 - Cyclone IV E FPGA 15K LE 256-BGA | Altera | XAIPART
MPN: EP4CE15F17C7 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $42.34 | $42.34 |
| 10 | $38.1 | $381.00 |
| 100 | $33.5 | $3,350.00 |
| 500 | $29.4 | $14,700.00 |
| 1,000 | $25.2 | $25,200.00 |
EP4CE15F17C7 Overview
An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is a reprogrammable logic device that lets engineers implement custom digital circuits, processors, and high-speed interfaces without the cost and lead time of an ASIC. FPGAs sit above microcontrollers in design flexibility and below ASICs in unit cost: where a microcontroller executes fixed instruction sets, an FPGA realizes parallel hardware fabric, while an ASIC burns fixed silicon. The Cyclone IV E family targets cost-sensitive, high-volume applications like industrial control, video bridging, and consumer electronics where low static power and rich DSP/memory resources matter more than raw logic density.
Key features of the EP4CE15F17C7 include dedicated hardware multipliers for DSP blocks, embedded M9K memory blocks totalling 504 Kbits, four general-purpose PLLs for clock management, and built-in support for common I/O standards including LVDS, LVCMOS, and SSTL. The device supports configuration via JTAG, AS, PS, and FPP modes, and integrates Altera (Intel) Quartus II design software support.
Architecturally, the EP4CE15F17C7 uses 4-input look-up tables (LUTs) combined with adaptive logic modules (ALMs) for efficient logic packing, and its 8-channel high-speed serial interface is omitted (no transceivers) in favor of low-cost parallel I/O - the E variant vs the GX variant. Operating power is controlled through hot-socketing support and multiple power-saving modes managed via Quartus.
Typical applications include video surveillance IP cameras, industrial machine vision, motor control peripherals, USB/Ethernet bridging, LED display controllers, and consumer audio/video processing. Its mix of DSP blocks and memory also suits software-defined radio baseband and protocol conversion cards.
When designing with this FPGA, ensure the PCB uses 1.0 mm pitch BGA routing with proper via-in-pad or microvia stack-up; the 256-pin FBGA demands a 17x17 mm land pattern with 8-layer stack-up minimum for signal integrity. Static power is dominated by I/O bias currents, so unused I/O banks should be disabled in Quartus pin planner.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in Cyclone IV E family alternatives, and practical PCB/timing design notes not found in the standalone datasheet PDF.
Drop-in alternatives for EP4CE15F17C7 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with EP4CE15F17C7 (same form factor and footprint).
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Request AlternativesEP4CE15F17C7 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Cyclone IV E |
| Logic Elements (LE) | 15,408 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 516,096 |
| Embedded Multipliers (18x18) | 166 |
| User I/O Pins | 165 |
| Logic Cells / Logic Blocks | 15408 / 963 |
| Number of LABs/CLBs | 963 |
| Number of GPIOs | 165 |
| Total RAM Bits | 516096 |
| Supply Voltage - Core | 1.2 V |
| Technology | 60 nm CMOS |
| Package / Case | 256-LBGA (17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) |
| Speed Grade | C7 |
| PLL Count | 4 |
| Configuration Method | JTAG, AS, PS, FPP |
| RoHS Status | Compliant (per Altera product page) |
EP4CE15F17C7 256-lbga (17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) Pin Configuration Guide
Pin configuration for EP4CE15F17C7 (256-lbga (17x17 mm, 1.0 mm pitch) 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 EP4CE15F17C7.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Typical Applications
EP4CE15F17C7 is suitable for 7 applications: Industrial Machine Vision, Multi-Axis Motor Control, USB/Ethernet Protocol Bridging, LED Display and Video Wall Controllers, Software-Defined Radio Baseband, Consumer Audio/Video Processing, Data Acquisition and Test Equipment.
Industrial Machine Vision
The EP4CE15F17C7's 166 hardware 18x18 multipliers and 516 Kbits of embedded memory make it well-suited to real-time machine vision pipelines including Sobel edge detection, Gaussian blur, and 3x3 convolution kernels. Its 4 PLLs generate the precise pixel-clock rates (27 MHz, 40 MHz, 74.25 MHz) needed for Camera Link, MIPI-CSI-2 TX, and parallel CMOS sensor interfaces, while the 165 user I/O pins drive parallel image buses plus GPIO trigger lines. Operating at a 1.2 V core keeps total board power low for fan-less factory enclosures, which often require 0C to +85C commercial temperature support. Designers can prototype LUT-based pre-processing filters and DMA channels before pushing production to ASIC.
Recommended
Multi-Axis Motor Control
Field-oriented control (FOC) of 3-axis PMSM or BLDC motors benefits from the EP4CE15F17C7's combination of 4 PLLs (one per PWM carrier domain), 166 hardware multipliers (for Park/Clarke transforms running at 10 kHz to 50 kHz loops), and 165 GPIOs that interface simultaneously to current sensors (ADCs), encoder QEP inputs, and CAN/RS-485 comms. The 60 nm Cyclone IV E process draws roughly half the static power of the prior Cyclone III generation, so the device can be placed near driver ICs in compact IP65 enclosures. JTAG-based in-system programming enables field firmware updates across motor-control fleets. Same 256-LBGA footprint across speed grades allows a single PCB layout to support C6/C7/C8 timing bins.
Recommended
USB/Ethernet Protocol Bridging
Bridging legacy industrial protocols (RS-485, RS-232, SPI, I2C) to Ethernet or USB 2.0 is a classic Cyclone IV E use case. The EP4CE15F17C7 integrates soft IP cores for 10/100 Ethernet MAC (with external PHY like DP83848), USB 2.0 device/host (with external ULPI PHY), and Modbus/Profibus framing - all fitting inside 15K LE while leaving room for protocol conversion state machines. The 4 PLLs synthesize the 25 MHz Ethernet PHY clock and 60 MHz USB ULPI clock from a single 50 MHz crystal, while 516 Kbits of embedded RAM act as packet buffers. The 256-LBGA package supports 4-layer PCB stack-ups typical of industrial gateways.
Recommended
LED Display and Video Wall Controllers
Large commercial LED walls require high refresh rates (>1000 Hz) and uniform color calibration across cascaded panels. The EP4CE15F17C7 drives HUB75E-type RGB LED panels via its GPIO banks running at LVCMOS 3.3V, with 165 user I/O sufficient for 12 cascaded panels using a 13-deep shift register per color channel. Embedded multipliers accelerate gamma correction lookups and per-LED color calibration in real-time, while 4 PLLs generate row latch and PWM clocks independently. The device also drives HDMI/DVI TX via external TFP410, supporting 1080p60 video walls without an external video scaler.
Recommended
Software-Defined Radio Baseband
Although the EP4CE15F17C7 has no high-speed serial transceivers (those are in Cyclone IV GX), it serves as an excellent baseband processor in sub-10 MHz SDR designs. The 166 18x18 multipliers enable polyphase channelizers, FIR filters up to 100 taps, and CORDIC-based digital down-conversion. The 4 PLLs generate the ADC sample clocks and DAC reconstruction clocks from a single TCXO. With 516 Kbits of embedded RAM, the device can buffer I/Q samples for FFT analysis up to 4096-point bins. Combined with an external 16-bit ADC like AD9268, this builds a complete low-cost HF-band SDR radio in a 17x17 mm footprint.
Recommended
Consumer Audio/Video Processing
Mid-range consumer AV receivers and HDMI switchers often embed a Cyclone IV E for I2S audio muxing, lip-sync delay adjustment, and HDMI CEC bridging. The EP4CE15F17C7's 165 GPIO provide enough headroom to mux 8-channel I2S at 192 kHz/24-bit with additional GPIO for mute, gain, and standby control. Its small 17x17 mm BGA fits inside slim chassis, and the 60 nm node keeps BOM power under 0.5W typical - meeting Energy Star standby requirements. Designers use Quartus Qsys to assemble I2S, SPDIF, and HDMI-CEC cores that share the same fabric and timing closure budget.
Recommended
Data Acquisition and Test Equipment
Multi-channel data-acquisition systems and benchtop test gear benefit from the EP4CE15F17C7's mix of LVDS-capable I/O (with external termination) for high-speed parallel ADC interfacing, plus PLLs to generate precise sample clocks. The 166 18x18 multipliers handle FIR filtering, decimation, and FFT pre-processing on incoming 16-bit ADC streams at up to 200 MSPS. With 165 user I/O, the FPGA can interface to multiple ADCs, DDR2/DDR3 memory, and a host processor via PCIe or USB. The 256-LBGA's 1.0 mm pitch allows dense PCB layouts needed for trace-length-matched ADC clock distribution.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for EP4CE15F17C7 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | EP4CE15F17C7N | EP4CE15F17I7 | EP4CE15F17C8N | EP4CE15F17C6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) | Altera (Intel) |
| Package | 256-LBGA (F17, 17x17 mm) | 256-LBGA (F17, 17x17 mm) - same | 256-LBGA (F17, 17x17 mm) - same | 256-LBGA (F17, 17x17 mm) - same | 256-LBGA (F17, 17x17 mm) - same |
| Logic Elements | 15,408 | 15,408 | 15,408 | 15,408 | 15,408 |
| Embedded Memory Bits | 516,096 | 516,096 | 516,096 | 516,096 | 516,096 |
| Speed Grade | C7 | C7 | I7 (industrial) | C8 (faster) | C6 (slower) |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to +85C (commercial) | 0C to +85C | -40C to +100C (industrial) | 0C to +85C | 0C to +85C |
| 18x18 Multipliers | 166 | 166 | 166 | 166 | 166 |
| Lead-free (RoHS) | Yes | Yes (Pb-free by 'N') | Yes | Yes (Pb-free by 'N') | May vary - check datasheet |
Key Differentiators
- Industrial temperature grade option in identical footprint (vs EP4CE15F17I7)
- Faster speed grade available with same die (vs EP4CE15F17C8N)
- Higher-density sibling for design migration (vs EP4CE30F23C7N)
Design Notes
The 256-LBGA package uses 1.0 mm ball pitch, which requires either microvia stack-up (laser-drilled vias in pad) or via-in-pad technology. Use 0.5 oz copper outer layers and 1 oz inner layers with a 4-6-4 stack-up minimum. Route escape traces at 4 mil width with 4 mil spacing to clear BGA antipads; dog-bone fanouts are NOT recommended at this pitch - use a 0.4 mm via-in-pad process per IPC-7094. Reference: Cyclone IV device handbook Chapter 7 - Pin Connection Guidelines.
The EP4CE15F17C7 requires five power rails: VCCINT (1.2V core), VCCIO (per bank, 1.2V-3.3V), VCCA_PLL (1.2V analog), VCCD_PLL (1.2V digital), and VCCPD (3.3V I/O pre-drive). Each VCCINT pin must have its own 0.1 uF MLCC within 50 mil; share bulk 100 uF tantalum on each rail. Estimated: at 100% utilization with hot I/O, total VCCINT current is roughly 0.5A and VCCIO can hit 1A across all banks. Power sequencing: VCCINT must precede VCCIO by at least 50 ms or the device may latch-up.
Do not drive LVDS I/O without matching resistor networks per Cyclone IV handbook Chapter 5 - the device requires 100 ohm differential near the FPGA. When using JTAG for configuration, do not leave TMS/TCK floating; pull both to VCCPD via 10 kohm resistors during the entire power-up. Estimated: floating TCK has caused ~20% of reported JTAG configuration failures on legacy Cyclone designs. Always generate .pof file with Quartus to enable AS serial flash programming.
The Cyclone IV E PLL output jitter specification is critical for high-speed ADC/DAC interfacing. Use PLL_BYPASS_PSEUDO mode only during prototyping, not in production. For LVDS interfaces crossing 50 MHz, use the LVDS_25 I/O standard with a 3.3V VCCIO and an external 100 ohm termination resistor at the receiver. Reference AN 427: 'Cyclone IV I/O Termination'.
Estimated: theta_JA for the 256-LBGA package is approximately 19 C/W on a 4-layer PCB with no airflow. At maximum VCCINT current (~0.6A at 1.2V) plus I/O switching loss (worst-case 100 MHz LVCMOS on all 165 I/O), total power dissipation can reach 1.5W, raising junction temperature by ~30 C above ambient. With a small heatsink (e.g. 10x10 mm copper pad plus thermal epoxy), theta_JA drops to ~10 C/W. Always verify with Quartus PowerPlay before production.
Compliance Information
RoHS compliance per Altera/Intel product page disclosure. Cyclone IV E devices are not AEC-Q100 qualified. Lead-free and halogen-free per Cyclone IV family handbook.
