EP4CGX15BF14C8N Description

The EP4CGX15BF14C8N is a member of Intel's (formerly Altera) Cyclone IV GX family of FPGAs, optimized for low-power, high-speed serial transceiver applications. Packaged in a compact 324-ball FineLine BGA (FBGA) format, this device integrates transceiver capabilities with mid-range logic resources, making it ideal for high-speed connectivity in cost-sensitive designs.

EP4CGX15BF14C8N Features

Logic Elements (LEs): ~15,408

Embedded Memory: ~540 Kbits

Integrated Transceivers: Supports 2.5 Gbps per channel

Maximum I/O Pins: 148

Operating Voltage: Core: 1.2V; I/O: 1.2V–3.3V

PLL Resources: 2 dedicated PLLs for clock management

Embedded Multipliers: Up to 63 for DSP functions

Low Static Power: Ideal for power-sensitive applications

Package: FBGA-324, compact and thermally efficient

Temperature Range: Commercial (0°C to +85°C)

EP4CGX15BF14C8N Applications

High-Speed Communication Interfaces (e.g., PCIe, Serial RapidIO)

Low-Cost Transceiver-Based Designs

Industrial Automation Controllers

Software Defined Radios (SDRs)

High-Speed Data Acquisition Systems

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Engines

Medical Imaging and Monitoring Systems

EP4CGX15BF14C8N CAD Model

Symbol

Footprint

3D Model

EP4CGX15BF14C8N Alternatives

If EP4CGX15BF14C8N is unavailable or over-spec’d, consider these alternatives:

EP4CGX22BF14C8N – Same family with more LEs and memory

EP4CGX15CF23C8N – Larger package variant with same logic density

EP4CE15F17C8N – Cyclone IV E (non-GX), no transceivers

Lattice ECP3-17EA – Similar logic density with embedded SerDes

Xilinx Artix-7 XC7A15T-1CPG236C – Comparable in logic and I/O, with modern toolchain support

EP4CGX15BF14C8N FAQs

Question: What is the practical SERDES latency when interfacing with 2.5 Gbps channels?

Answer: The end-to-end latency (TX+RX) is approximately 10–15 cycles at 2.5 Gbps, depending on the PLL and clock recovery configuration. Proper alignment of clock domains is essential to minimize latency jitter.

Question: What is the power ramp-up sensitivity for the core voltage supply?

Answer: The core 1.2V supply must ramp within 10ms to ensure reliable device initialization. A slower ramp may cause configuration failures or unstable I/O behavior during initial power-up.

Question: Can EP4CGX15BF14C8N tolerate hot-plugging on any of its transceiver lanes?

Answer: Not inherently. The device requires proper ESD protection and power sequencing. Transceiver lanes are sensitive to out-of-sequence power, which may lead to latch-up or permanent damage.

Question: How many independent reference clocks can be fed to the transceiver blocks?

Answer: Two distinct reference clocks can be routed simultaneously—one per transceiver bank. Each transceiver PLL can select from multiple clock sources via dynamic reconfiguration.

Question: Is dynamic reconfiguration of transceivers possible without reloading the entire FPGA?

Answer: Yes. The Cyclone IV GX supports dynamic reconfiguration of transceiver parameters (e.g., equalization, VOD, pre-emphasis) using the ALT_RECONFIG IP without requiring a full reconfiguration.