This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee excludes equity method investees invested by consolidated joint ventures. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized.

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Investments in Companies (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended						9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
Investments in Companies (Details)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 AXT, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 AXT, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 AXT, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 AXT, Inc. [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Equity Method Investments [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2012 Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd [Member] Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Xilingol Tongli Germanium Co. Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Xilingol Tongli Germanium Co. Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 Emeishan Jia Mei High Purity Metals Co., Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Emeishan Jia Mei High Purity Metals Co., Ltd [Member] Equity Method Investments [Member] USD ($)
Summary of investments [Abstract]
Investments, consolidated										$ 460,000		$ 460,000		2,800,000		$ 4,333,000	$ 4,333,000	$ 3,331,000	$ 3,331,000	$ 592,000	$ 592,000	$ 410,000	$ 410,000
Equity method investment by parent										7,510,000		7,510,000			7,326,000									1,950,000	2,038,000	4,618,000	4,246,000	942,000	1,042,000
Percentage of ownership, consolidated method (in hundredths)																		46.00%		83.00%		70.00%
Percentage of ownership, equity method (in hundredths)	20.00%		20.00%																					46.00%		25.00%		25.00%
Number of consolidated joint ventures										3		3
Income from three consolidated joint ventures										565,000	1,800,000	3,300,000	7,000,000
Income allocated to minority interests	230,000	512,000	1,105,000	2,957,000						230,000	512,000	1,100,000	3,000,000
Net income from joint ventures attributable to parent										335,000	1,200,000	2,200,000	4,000,000
Number of equity investment entities										3		3
Minority investment invested by consolidated joint venture, included in other assets										3,100,000		3,100,000			2,000,000
Gross equity earnings (losses) from minority-owned joint ventures that are not consolidated, recorded as other income	346,000	348,000	1,099,000	786,000						346,000	348,000	1,100,000	786,000
Percentage of Option Exercised to Sell Shares	35.00%
Investments in unconsolidated privately-held entities, included in other assets	325,000		325,000		392,000
Summarized income information of all the minority investment entities that are not consolidated and accounted for under the equity method [Abstract]
Net revenue						11,024,000	9,394,000	29,938,000	23,676,000
Gross profit						3,628,000	3,377,000	10,516,000	8,137,000
Operating income						2,393,000	2,018,000	6,566,000	4,542,000
Net income						$ 1,631,000	$ 1,897,000	$ 4,960,000	$ 3,915,000