The ’HC4046A and ’HCT4046A are high-speed silicon-gate CMOS devices that are pin compatible with the CD4046B of the "4000B" series. They are specified in compliance with JEDEC standard number 7.

The ’HC4046A and ’HCT4046A are phase-locked-loop circuits that contain a linear voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) and three different phase comparators (PC1, PC2 and PC3). A signal input and a comparator input are common to each comparator.

The signal input can be directly coupled to large voltage signals, or indirectly coupled (with a series capacitor) to small voltage signals. A self-bias input circuit keeps small voltage signals within the linear region of the input amplifiers. With a passive low-pass filter, the 4046A forms a second-order loop PLL. The excellent VCO linearity is achieved by the use of linear op-amp techniques.