Period the instrument, asset or liability is expected to be outstanding, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (e)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueAssumptionsExpectedTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Measure of dispersion, in percentage terms (for instance, the standard deviation or variance), for a given stock price.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueAssumptionsExpectedVolatilityRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Interest rate used to find the present value of an amount to be paid or received in the future as an input to measure fair value. For example, but not limited to, weighted average cost of capital (WACC), cost of capital, cost of equity and cost of debt.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (bbb)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueInputsDiscountRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueInputsLiabilitiesQuantitativeInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of assumed long-term growth in revenues, used as an input to measure fair value.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (bbb)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueInputsLongTermRevenueGrowthRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Fair value of financial instrument classified as a liability measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 820
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=36462937&loc=d3e19207-110258

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationsRecurringBasisLiabilityValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByMeasurementFrequencyAxis=us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementsRecurringMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByFairValueHierarchyLevelAxis=us-gaap_FairValueInputsLevel3Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FairValueByLiabilityClassAxis=slab_ContingentConsiderationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ValuationTechniqueAxis=slab_MonteCarloSimulationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Fair Value of Financial Instruments - Contingent Consideration (Details) - Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 02, 2016	Jan. 03, 2015	Dec. 28, 2013
Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on recurring basis
Quantitative information for Level 3 fair value measurements liabilities
Fair value at the end of the period	$ 14,073
Contingent consideration \| Monte Carlo simulation
Quantitative information for Level 3 fair value measurements liabilities
Expected revenue volatility (as a percent)	20.00%
Contingent consideration \| Low end of range \| Monte Carlo simulation
Quantitative information for Level 3 fair value measurements liabilities
Expected revenue growth rate (as a percent)	29.80%
Expected term	0 years
Estimated discount rate (as a percent)	0.34%
Contingent consideration \| High end of range \| Monte Carlo simulation
Quantitative information for Level 3 fair value measurements liabilities
Expected revenue growth rate (as a percent)	55.80%
Expected term	3 years
Estimated discount rate (as a percent)	0.98%
Contingent consideration \| Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on recurring basis
Quantitative information for Level 3 fair value measurements liabilities
Fair value at the end of the period	$ 14,073	$ 18,438	$ 12,919