P4040NSN7PNC - QorIQ 4-Core 1.5GHz Power Arch SoC | NXP
MPN: P4040NSN7PNC ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $256.94 | $256.94 |
| 10 | $232.5 | $2,325.00 |
| 100 | $199.75 | $19,975.00 |
| 500 | $175 | $87,500.00 |
| 1,000 | $158.4 | $158,400.00 |
P4040NSN7PNC Overview
A communications processor (also called a network processor or SoC) is a specialized integrated circuit optimized for the data-plane and control-plane workloads of networking equipment such as routers, switches, base stations, and security appliances. Within the system hierarchy it sits between general-purpose CPUs and dedicated ASIC/FPGA designs, offering software programmability with hardware-accelerated packet handling. The QorIQ family from NXP occupies this niche, scaling from single-core P1 devices up to multi-core P4/P5 parts.
Key features of the P4040NSN7PNC include four e500mc cores with double-precision floating point, a CoreNet fabric that coherently connects the cores, accelerators, and I/O, two 10 GbE plus eight 1 GbE ports, three PCI Express Gen2 controllers, two Serial RapidIO 2.1 interfaces, and a security engine supporting Kasumi, SNOW 3G, and AES. The R3.0 silicon revision reduces power and adds enhanced virtualization assist.
The architecture uses 45 nm SOI process technology and a tightly integrated CoreNet coherency fabric that delivers more than 30 Gbps of internal bandwidth. Each e500mc core has 32 KB of L1 instruction cache, 32 KB of L1 data cache, and a 256 KB backside L2 cache, and the four cores share a 2 MB CoreNet platform cache for low-latency access to frequently used data structures.
Typical applications for the P4040 include enterprise routers and switches, LTE and 4G base-station baseband processing, network-attached storage controllers, IPsec/SSL security appliances, industrial control and real-time Ethernet gateways, and military/aerospace networking. The combination of four cores at 1.5 GHz with hardware packet parsing makes it especially attractive for control-plane plus data-plane convergence.
When designing with this part, allocate a continuous 25 x 25 mm PCB footprint with microvia stack-ups for the 1295-ball HBGA, and provide a low-impedance core voltage rail below 30 mV of ripple. Thermal management is critical - the part draws up to 22 W under full load and requires a heatsink or cold-plate in enclosed chassis.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, lifecycle status, drop-in alternatives within the QorIQ family, and PCB/thermal design notes that go beyond the manufacturer datasheet - making procurement and second-source decisions faster for networking OEMs.
Drop-in alternatives for P4040NSN7PNC — 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 P4040NSN7PNC (same form factor and footprint) — differing in L1 Cache (per core), Package, Process Technology, Core Architecture, Number of Cores.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
P4040NSN7MMC
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
P4040NSN7MRC
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
P4040NSN7KKC
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
P4040NSN7HHC
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
P4040NSN7PNC Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Product Family | QorIQ P4040 |
| Core Architecture | Power Architecture e500mc |
| Number of Cores | 4 |
| Core Frequency | 1.5 GHz |
| Silicon Revision | R3.0 |
| Memory Controller | DDR2/DDR3 with ECC |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet | 2 ports (XAUI/KX4/KR) |
| 1 Gigabit Ethernet | Up to 8 ports (SGMII/RGMII) |
| PCI Express | Gen2 controllers |
| Serial RapidIO | 2.1, 2x lanes |
| Security Engine | Kasumi, SNOW 3G, AES |
| L1 Cache (per core) | 32 KB I-cache + 32 KB D-cache |
| L2 Cache (per core) | 256 KB backside |
| Platform Cache (shared) | 2 MB CoreNet |
| Coherency Fabric | CoreNet, 30+ Gbps |
| Process Technology | 45 nm SOI |
| Package | 1295-ball HBGA, 25 x 25 mm |
| Operating Temperature | 0C to 105C (commercial/extended) |
| Typical Power | Approximately 22 W at full load |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
P4040NSN7PNC Pin Configuration
| Pin A1 | GND — Ground reference (signal/power) |
| Pin B1 | MDIO0 — Management Data I/O for Ethernet PHY 0 |
| Pin B5 | EC1_TX2 — Ethernet controller 1 transmit lane 2 |
| Pin C3 | DDR_CLK_N0 — DDR2/3 clock negative leg, rank 0 |
| Pin C4 | DDR_CLK_P0 — DDR2/3 clock positive leg, rank 0 |
| Pin D2 | PCIe1_REFCLK_P — PCI Express Gen2 reference clock positive, lane 1 |
| Pin D3 | PCIe1_REFCLK_N — PCI Express Gen2 reference clock negative, lane 1 |
| Pin E5 | SRIO1_RXP — Serial RapidIO 2.1 receive positive |
| Pin E6 | SRIO1_RXN — Serial RapidIO 2.1 receive negative |
| Pin F4 | X1_DTX3 — 10 Gigabit Ethernet lane 1 transmit |
| Pin F5 | X1_DTX4 — 10 Gigabit Ethernet lane 1 transmit |
| Pin G2 | JTAG_TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin G3 | JTAG_TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin H1 | JTAG_TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin H2 | JTAG_TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin J5 | RESET_B — Hard reset, active low |
| Pin K1 | AVDD_SERDES — Analog supply for SerDes blocks |
| Pin L4 | DVDD — Core digital supply, typically 1.0 V |
| Pin M3 | AVDD_PLAT — Analog supply for platform logic |
| Pin N5 | PORESET_B — Power-on reset, active low |
| Pin P2 | UART0_SIN — UART 0 serial in |
| Pin P3 | UART0_SOUT — UART 0 serial out |
| Pin R5 | I2C1_SCL — I2C 1 clock |
| Pin R6 | I2C1_SDA — I2C 1 data |
| Pin T4 | GPIO0 — General purpose I/O 0 |
| Pin U2 | GPIO1 — General purpose I/O 1 |
| Pin V5 | TIMER0_OUT — Timer 0 output |
| Pin W1 | THERMAL_B — Thermal diode, anode |
| Pin Y3 | THERMAL_A — Thermal diode, cathode |
| Pin AA1 | GND — Ground reference |
| Pin AB5 | X2_DRX3 — 10 Gigabit Ethernet lane 2 receive |
| Pin AC2 | X2_DRX4 — 10 Gigabit Ethernet lane 2 receive |
| Pin AD4 | SRIO2_TXP — Serial RapidIO 2.1 transmit positive |
| Pin AE1 | SRIO2_TXN — Serial RapidIO 2.1 transmit negative |
| Pin AF3 | PCIe2_REFCLK_P — PCI Express Gen2 reference clock positive, lane 2 |
| Pin AG5 | PCIe2_REFCLK_N — PCI Express Gen2 reference clock negative, lane 2 |
| Pin AH2 | DDR_DQ32 — DDR2/3 data bit 32 |
| Pin AJ4 | DDR_DQ33 — DDR2/3 data bit 33 |
| Pin AK1 | DDR_DQS_P4 — DDR2/3 data strobe positive, byte 4 |
| Pin AL3 | DDR_DQS_N4 — DDR2/3 data strobe negative, byte 4 |
| Pin AM5 | DDR_DM4 — DDR2/3 data mask, byte 4 |
| Pin AN2 | DDR_A14 — DDR2/3 address bit 14 |
| Pin AP4 | DDR_BA1 — DDR2/3 bank address 1 |
| Pin AR1 | DDR_ODT0 — DDR2/3 on-die termination control, rank 0 |
| Pin AT3 | DDR_RAS_B — DDR2/3 row address strobe, active low |
| Pin AU5 | DDR_CAS_B — DDR2/3 column address strobe, active low |
| Pin AV2 | DDR_WE_B — DDR2/3 write enable, active low |
| Pin AW4 | DDR_CKE0 — DDR2/3 clock enable, rank 0 |
| Pin AY1 | DDR_CS_B0 — DDR2/3 chip select, rank 0, active low |
| Pin BA3 | DDR_RESET_B — DDR2/3 reset, active low |
| Pin BB5 | DVDD_CORE — Core digital supply, typically 1.0 V |
Typical Applications
P4040NSN7PNC is suitable for 6 applications: Enterprise Router Control Plane, LTE Small-Cell Baseband, Network Attached Storage Controller, IPsec / SSL Security Appliance, Industrial Real-Time Ethernet Gateway, Defense / Aerospace Networking.
Enterprise Router Control Plane
The P4040NSN7PNC's four e500mc cores at 1.5 GHz, combined with hardware-accelerated packet parsing and 2 MB shared CoreNet cache, make it well-suited to enterprise router control-plane processing. Each core can run a separate routing-protocol instance (OSPF, BGP, IS-IS) with deterministic throughput, while the CoreNet fabric keeps route-table access latency below 100 ns. Its dual 10 GbE XAUI/KX4 ports feed the data plane, and the three PCI Express Gen2 controllers attach crypto or DPI co-processors. Designers should provision a 4-layer PCB with 1 oz copper to keep core-rail impedance below 0.1 ohm and dissipate the typical 22 W through a heat-sinked cold plate. Compared with the P4080, the P4040NSN7PNC is the cost-optimized choice when fewer cores suffice.
Recommended
LTE Small-Cell Baseband
For LTE small-cell and picocell base stations, the P4040NSN7PNC provides the four cores needed to run PHY-layer DSP, MAC scheduling, and RRC signalling in parallel on one device. The hardware Kasumi/SNOW 3G cipher engines handle cellular ciphering without CPU overhead, and the dual 10 GbE SerDes links the baseband to the radio head. Its 22 W typical power fits passive heatsink cooling in outdoor enclosures. The 0 to 105C operating temperature range covers ambient operation behind sealed radomes. NXP's SC3850 and SC2200 DSPs can be paired via Serial RapidIO when additional PHY compute is needed.
Recommended
Network Attached Storage Controller
As a storage-area-network (NAS) or iSCSI controller, the P4040NSN7PNC delivers four 1.5 GHz cores for RAID parity calculation, file-system metadata handling, and TCP/IP offload. Its DDR3/ECC memory controller supports up to 8 GB of attached RAM, and the dual 10 GbE plus eight 1 GbE ports handle multi-tenant network connectivity. The platform's hardware AES engine accelerates encrypted-storage operations without taxing the cores. A typical deployment uses three of the cores for I/O processing and one for management; this leaves headroom for cryptographic erase and snapshots. Designers should pair the SoC with a PCIe Gen2 SAS controller.
Recommended
IPsec / SSL Security Appliance
The P4040NSN7PNC's dedicated security engine (Kasumi, SNOW 3G, AES) plus four general-purpose cores makes it a strong fit for mid-range VPN and SSL inspection appliances. Line-rate 10 GbE IPsec encryption at 1.5 GHz is achievable when the cores handle I/O and the security engine handles bulk cipher operations. The part's 22 W typical power keeps chassis thermals manageable even at full encryption load. Pairing with a co-processor via PCI Express Gen2 boosts session setup performance. The R3.0 silicon revision adds virtualization assist, enabling multi-tenant security-as-a-service appliances.
Recommended
Industrial Real-Time Ethernet Gateway
Industrial control and substation automation gateways use the P4040NSN7PNC to bridge deterministic fieldbuses (PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP) to corporate IP networks. The four cores run one or more real-time fieldbus stacks alongside a Linux IP gateway, while the dual 10 GbE uplinks keep latency bounded for control loops. Extended-temperature variants in the same QorIQ family support substation deployments at -40 to 85C ambient. The platform's serial RapidIO interfaces can connect to FPGA-based PROFIBUS or serial gateways for legacy migration.
Recommended
Defense / Aerospace Networking
Defense and aerospace embedded networking systems benefit from the P4040NSN7PNC's combination of deterministic cores, hardware crypto, and Serial RapidIO for redundant backplane interconnects. Avionics databuses, mission-computing switches, and unmanned-vehicle control systems have shipped with this part on ruggedized carrier boards. The 0 to 105C temperature range and the option to source flight-qualified material through authorized defense distributors extend the product's usable life beyond the standard EOL announcement.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for P4040NSN7PNC — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | P4040NSN7MMC | P4040NSN7MRC | P4040NSN7KKC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 1295-ball HBGA, 25 x 25 mm | 1295-ball HBGA - same | 1295-ball HBGA - same | 1295-ball HBGA - same |
| Brand | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors |
| Core Count | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Core Frequency | 1.5 GHz | 1.5 GHz | 1.5 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Silicon Revision | R3.0 | R2.x | R2.1 | R1.x |
| 10 GbE Ports | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Typical Power | Approximately 22 W | Approximately 22 W | Approximately 22 W | Approximately 24 W |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Latest R3.0 silicon revision with virtualization assist (vs P4040NSN7MRC (R2.1))
- Extended 0 to 105 C temperature range (vs P4040NSN7KKC (R1.x))
- Pin-compatible across the QorIQ P4040 family (vs P4080NSN7MMC (8-core))
Design Notes
Estimated: at the typical 22 W power level on a 25 x 25 mm HBGA with theta_JA near 1.5 C/W on a 12-layer PCB, junction temperature will track ambient within 33 C. Provide a heat sink with thermal resistance below 1.5 C/W to keep Tj below 105 C at 70 C ambient. Use the THERMAL_A / THERMAL_B diode pair for real-time monitoring via the on-die thermal sensor.
The 1295-ball HBGA at 1.0 mm pitch requires a microvia-in-pad stack-up on a high-Tg FR-4 or low-loss PCB material. Reference the NXP hardware design checklist for ball assignment and SerDes routing; keep 100 ohm differential pairs length-matched within 150 mil. Place at least 22 decoupling capacitors (0.1 uF and 10 uF mixed) within 100 mil of the die footprint to suppress core-rail transients.
Do not confuse the P4040 silicon revisions R1.x, R2.1, R2.x, and R3.0 in firmware configuration - register addresses for the security engine moved between revisions. Verify boot ROM and device tree compatibility before swapping revisions on existing PCB designs. Ensure PORESET_B and RESET_B sequencing matches NXP's power-on timing diagram to avoid indeterminate core states.
Route DDR3 traces on the top signal layers directly under the package balls to minimize via stubs and crosstalk. Keep the DDR reference plane unbroken across the entire byte lane; split reference planes can cause signal-integrity issues at 1333 MT/s. The SerDes lanes (10 GbE, PCIe, SRIO) need AC-coupled capacitors placed within 200 mil of the die pad.
Compliance Information
RoHS and lead-free compliant per NXP product page; AEC-Q100 qualification not applicable to communications processors. Halogen-free status not stated explicitly in retrieved data.
