Forum Discussion

Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
16 years ago

How much is the maximum current of FPGA

Hi,everyone, I'm working in a project using EP1C6Q240.The datasheet says that the Current Strength of each I/O pin can be set up to 24mA.Suppose I use 100 pins to output 20mA at the same time,the ...
Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
16 years ago

As already said, current strength doesn't involve safe current limit. You have to care for a safe external circuitry. The Cyclone handbook is clear regarding permitted DC loads, in my opinion. The 25 mA limit value would be allowed for all output pins simulataneously, because the supplementing current per pin group limitation is even higher.

But, if the 20 mA per pin is a high speed dynamic load, there's a good chance for your design to fail due to SSO (simultaneous switching outputs) noise, particularly with a Q240 package.