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Area of a real estate property.

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Related Party Transactions (Details)		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Related Party Transactions (Details)	Aug. 31, 2011 USD ($) item	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) ft² installment	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related party notes receivable - long term			$ 157,000	$ 166,000
Area of leased property (in square feet) \| ft²			19,467
Other Assets [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Reclassifed related party amount			$ 1,400,000	1,600,000
Equity investment entity \| Related party loan \| Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount of transaction	$ 1,600,000
Number of equity method investees to whom loan was granted \| item	1
Term of loan			2 years 9 months 29 days
Number of installments \| installment			3
Equity investment entity \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Accounts payable \| Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount payable to related party			$ 1,800,000	2,400,000
Equity investment entity \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Accounts payable \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount payable to related party			146,000	13,000
Equity investment entity \| Raw materials sales to related party \| Accounts receivable \| Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amounts receivable from related party			313,000	473,000
Equity investment entity \| Raw material agency sales agreement \| Other income (expense), net \| Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co., Ltd
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Other income from related party			1,000	1,000
Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd \| Related party loan \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount of transaction			$ 43,000
Interest rate (as a percent)			6.15%
Related party notes receivable - long term			$ 50,000
Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related party notes receivable - long term			107,000	114,000
Emei Shan Jiamei Materials Co., Ltd \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Accounts payable \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount payable to related party			377,000	70,000
Xilingol Tongli Germanium Co. Ltd \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Accounts payable \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount payable to related party			246,000	0
Beijing Kaide Quartz Co. Ltd \| Raw materials purchases from related party \| Accounts payable
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount payable to related party			$ 323,000	$ 379,000
Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co \| Lease of land \| Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Lease term			10 years
Rental increase period			3 years
Interest rate (as a percent)			5.00%
Area of leased property (in square feet) \| ft²			22,081
Annual lease payment			$ 24,000
Executive officer \| Related party loan \| Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount of transaction		$ 173,000
Interest rate (as a percent)		2.75%