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Refers to percentage of Pure gallium products produces by joint ventures.

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Period of work-in-process held in inventory, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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Amount of increase (decrease) in the allowance for doubtful accounts.

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For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

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The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

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Amount before tax of foreign currency transaction realized and unrealized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement.

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Number of operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise: (a) that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise), (b) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and (c) for which discrete financial information is available. An operating segment may engage in business activities for which it has yet to earn revenues, for example, start-up operations may be operating segments before earning revenues.

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred through that date and payable for estimated claims under standard and extended warranty protection rights granted to customers. For classified balance sheets, represents the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer).

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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Total of allowances and reserves, the valuation and qualifying accounts that are either netted against the cost of an asset (in order to value it at its carrying value) or that reflect a liability established to represent expected future costs.

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Total of the deductions in a given period to allowances and reserves, the valuation and qualifying accounts that are either netted against the cost of an asset (in order to value it at its carrying value) or that reflect a liability established to represent expected future costs, representing receivables written off as uncollectible and portions of the reserves utilized, respectively.

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The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Segment	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Percentage of pure gallium products produces by joint ventures (in hundredths)	99.99%
Foreign Currency Translation [Abstract]
Foreign currency transaction exchange gains (losses)	$ (1,000,000)	$ (1.3)	$ (445,000)
Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure [Line Items]
Minimum period to evaluate receivable from US customer	90 days
Minimum period to evaluate receivable from other than US customer	120 days
Accounts receivable, net	17,864,000us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent	14,943,000us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent
Increase in allowance for doubtful accounts	(459,000)	869,000
Warranty Reserve [Abstract]
Accrued product warranties	802,000	1,048,000	588,000
Impairment of Long Lived Assets [Abstract]
Impairment of long-lived assets	0axti_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssets	0axti_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssets	0axti_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssets
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of operating segments	1us-gaap_NumberOfOperatingSegments
Advertising Costs [Abstract]
Advertising costs	10,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	12,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	19,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense
Computers and Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	3 years
Office Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	3 years
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	3 years
Automobiles [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	5 years
Leasehold and Building Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	10 years
Building [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	27 years 6 months
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts [Member]
Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure [Line Items]
Valuation allowance balance	410,000	869,000
Allowance for Sales Returns [Member]
Valuation and Qualifying Accounts Disclosure [Line Items]
Allowance deductions	410,000	189,000	426,000
Additional allowance for sales return	183,000	130,000	547,000
Valuation allowance balance	$ 413,000	$ 186,000	$ 245,000
Revenue [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Number of customers representing significant share	0	0	1
Trade Accounts Receivable [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Number of customers representing significant share	2		1
Major Customer One [Member] \| Revenue [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Percentage share generated by major customers (in hundredths)			17.00%
Major Customer One [Member] \| Trade Accounts Receivable [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Percentage share generated by major customers (in hundredths)	11.00%	20.00%
Major Customer Two [Member] \| Trade Accounts Receivable [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Percentage share generated by major customers (in hundredths)	10.00%
Top Five Major Customers [Member] \| Revenue [Member]
Revenue, Major Customer [Line Items]
Number of customers representing significant share	5	5	5
Percentage share generated by major customers (in hundredths)	34.00%	31.00%	37.00%
Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	3 years
Minimum [Member] \| Joint Ventures [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership, equity method (in hundredths)	20.00%
Minimum [Member] \| Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership, equity method (in hundredths)	20.00%
Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated economic life	27 years 6 months
Maximum [Member] \| Wafers [Member]
Inventory [Line Items]
Work-in-process heldup period	2 years
Maximum [Member] \| Ingots [Member]
Inventory [Line Items]
Work-in-process heldup period	3 years
Maximum [Member] \| Joint Ventures [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership, equity method (in hundredths)	83.00%
Maximum [Member] \| Majority-owned Subsidiaries [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership, equity method (in hundredths)	50.00%