Related Party Transactions (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014 Installment	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Installment	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013		Aug. 31, 2011 EquityMethodInvestee
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related party notes receivable - long term	$ 1,874,000		$ 1,874,000		$ 1,715,000	[1]
Accrued liabilities	6,790,000		6,790,000		7,286,000	[1]
Accounts payable	9,480,000		9,480,000		8,140,000	[1]
Area of leased property (in square feet)	27,760		27,760
Lease term			7 years
Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co Ltd [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amount of loan under note agreement							1,700,000
Number of equity method investees to whom loan was granted							1
Term of loan			2 years 10 months
Number of installments	3		3
Related party notes receivable - long term	1,700,000		1,700,000		1,700,000
Income from agency sales	0	0	0	20,000
Accrued liabilities	0		0		0
Accounts payable	1,850,000		1,850,000		1,500,000
Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co Ltd [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Income from agency sales	1,000	29,000	17,000	123,000
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Area of leased property (in square feet)	22,081		22,081
Lease term			10 years
Annual lease payment			24,000
Increase in annual lease payment at each third year anniversary (in hundredths)	5.00%		5.00%
Payments to purchase materials			120,000
Additional loan paid to related party			$ 49,000
Interest on loan (in hundreths)	6.15%		6.15%

[1] Derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2013.