Name:	slab_EquityAwardExpensesDueToModificationsRecordedInSellingGeneralAndAdministrativeExpense
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

Represents the number of employee terminated during the period.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_NumberOfEmployeeTerminated
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the maximum term of an offering period for awards under the equity-based compensation plan.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardMaximumTermOfOffering
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the minimum exercise price of awards granted under the equity-based compensation plan, as percentage of fair market value of a share of entity's common stock on the date of grant.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardMinimumExercisePriceAsPercentageOfGrantDateFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

Represents the number of shares to be deducted from shares available for issuance for each share granted under the equity-based compensation plan.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardNumberOfSharesToBeDeductedFromSharesAvailableForIssuanceForEachShareGranted
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the term of the share based award in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardTerm
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the cash consideration based upon achievement of specified levels of market conditions.

No definition available.

Name:	slab_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementCashConsiderationBasedUponAchievementOfSpecifiedLevelsOfMarketConditions
Namespace Prefix:	slab_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

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.

No definition available.

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

Period which an employee's right to exercise an award is no longer contingent on satisfaction of either a service condition, market condition or a performance condition, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardAwardVestingPeriod1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

The number of grants made during the period on other than stock (or unit) option plans (for example, phantom stock or unit plan, stock or unit appreciation rights plan, performance target plan).

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardEquityInstrumentsOtherThanOptionsGrantsInPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

The weighted average fair value at grant date for nonvested equity-based awards issued during the period on other than stock (or unit) option plans (for example, phantom stock or unit plan, stock or unit appreciation rights plan, performance target plan).

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardEquityInstrumentsOtherThanOptionsGrantsInPeriodWeightedAverageGrantDateFairValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

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

The estimated dividend rate (a percentage of the share price) to be paid (expected dividends) to holders of the underlying shares over the option's term.

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

The estimated measure of the percentage by which a share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. Volatility also may be defined as a probability-weighted measure of the dispersion of returns about the mean. The volatility of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a specified period. That is the same as the standard deviation of the differences in the natural logarithms of the stock prices plus dividends, if any, over the period.

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

The risk-free interest rate assumption that is used in valuing an option on its own shares.

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

Number of share instruments newly issued under a share-based compensation plan.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=96867065&loc=d3e5070-113901

Name:	us-gaap_ShareBasedCompensationArrangementByShareBasedPaymentAwardSharesIssuedInPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Expected term of share-based compensation awards, 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 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (f)(2)(i)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=96867065&loc=d3e5070-113901

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 14.D.2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27013229&loc=d3e301413-122809

Name:	us-gaap_SharebasedCompensationArrangementBySharebasedPaymentAwardFairValueAssumptionsExpectedTerm1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_EmployeeStockOptionMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=slab_MarketStockUnitsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	us-gaap_PlanNameAxis=slab_StockIncentivePlan2009Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

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

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

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=slab_FullValueAwardsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=slab_EmployeeStockOptionsAndStockAppreciationRightsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	slab_SharePoolAxis=slab_PriorPoolMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	us-gaap_AwardTypeAxis=us-gaap_PerformanceSharesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Name:	us-gaap_PlanNameAxis=slab_StockIncentivePlan2000Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: