Note 1 - Description of Business	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Notes to Financial Statements
Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]	1. Description of Business Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) is a materials technology company that works with manufacturing and commercial partners to develop and commercialize products made from proprietary amorphous alloys. The Company’s family of alloys consists of a variety of bulk alloys and composites that utilize the advantages offered by amorphous alloys technology. The Company works with partners to design, develop, and sell products and custom parts from bulk amorphous alloys for sale in a wide range of industries. The Company also partners with third-party manufacturers and licensees to develop and commercialize Liquidmetal alloy products. Amorphous alloys are, in general, unique materials that are distinguished by their ability to retain a random atomic structure when they solidify, in contrast to the crystalline atomic structure that forms in other metals and alloys when they solidify. Liquidmetal alloys are proprietary amorphous alloys that possess a combination of performance, processing, and potential cost advantages that the Company believes will make them preferable to other materials in a variety of applications. The amorphous atomic structure of bulk alloys enables them to overcome certain performance limitations caused by inherent weaknesses in crystalline atomic structures, thus facilitating performance and processing characteristics superior in many ways to those of their crystalline counterparts. The Company believes that the alloys and the molding technologies it employs may result in components, for many applications, that exhibit: exceptional dimensional control and repeatability that rivals precision machining, excellent corrosion resistance, brilliant surface finish, high strength, high hardness, high elastic limit, alloys that are non-magnetic, and the ability to form complex shapes common to the injection molding of plastics. Interestingly, all of these characteristics are achievable from the molding process, so design engineers often do not have to select specific alloys to achieve one or more of the characteristics as is the case with crystalline materials. The Company believes these advantages could result in Liquidmetal alloys supplanting high-performance alloys, such as titanium and stainless steel, and other incumbent materials in a wide variety of applications. Moreover, the Company believes these advantages could enable the introduction of entirely new products and applications that are not possible or commercially viable with other materials. The Company’s bulk amorphous alloy technology is a relatively new technology as compared to many other material technologies, such as plastics and widely-used high-performance crystalline alloys. Historically, the successful commercialization of a new material technology has required the persistent improvement and refining of the technology over a sometimes lengthy period of time. Accordingly, the Company believes that its future success will be dependent on its ability to continue expanding and improving its technology platform by, among other things, constantly refining and improving its processes, optimizing its existing amorphous alloy compositions for various applications, and developing and improving new bulk amorphous alloy compositions. The Company’s revenues are derived from i) selling bulk amorphous alloy custom products and parts for applications which include, but are not limited to, non-consumer electronic devices, medical products, automotive components, and sports and leisure goods; ii) selling tooling and prototype parts such as demonstration parts and test samples for customers with products in development; and iii) product licensing and royalty revenue.

Note 1 - Description of Business

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]

1. Description of Business

Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) is a materials technology company that works with manufacturing and commercial partners to develop and commercialize products made from proprietary amorphous alloys. The Company’s family of alloys consists of a variety of bulk alloys and composites that utilize the advantages offered by amorphous alloys technology. The Company works with partners to design, develop, and sell products and custom parts from bulk amorphous alloys for sale in a wide range of industries. The Company also partners with third-party manufacturers and licensees to develop and commercialize Liquidmetal alloy products.

Amorphous alloys are, in general, unique materials that are distinguished by their ability to retain a random atomic structure when they solidify, in contrast to the crystalline atomic structure that forms in other metals and alloys when they solidify. Liquidmetal alloys are proprietary amorphous alloys that possess a combination of performance, processing, and potential cost advantages that the Company believes will make them preferable to other materials in a variety of applications. The amorphous atomic structure of bulk alloys enables them to overcome certain performance limitations caused by inherent weaknesses in crystalline atomic structures, thus facilitating performance and processing characteristics superior in many ways to those of their crystalline counterparts. The Company believes that the alloys and the molding technologies it employs may result in components, for many applications, that exhibit: exceptional dimensional control and repeatability that rivals precision machining, excellent corrosion resistance, brilliant surface finish, high strength, high hardness, high elastic limit, alloys that are non-magnetic, and the ability to form complex shapes common to the injection molding of plastics. Interestingly, all of these characteristics are achievable from the molding process, so design engineers often do not have to select specific alloys to achieve one or more of the characteristics as is the case with crystalline materials. The Company believes these advantages could result in Liquidmetal alloys supplanting high-performance alloys, such as titanium and stainless steel, and other incumbent materials in a wide variety of applications. Moreover, the Company believes these advantages could enable the introduction of entirely new products and applications that are not possible or commercially viable with other materials.

The Company’s bulk amorphous alloy technology is a relatively new technology as compared to many other material technologies, such as plastics and widely-used high-performance crystalline alloys. Historically, the successful commercialization of a new material technology has required the persistent improvement and refining of the technology over a sometimes lengthy period of time. Accordingly, the Company believes that its future success will be dependent on its ability to continue expanding and improving its technology platform by, among other things, constantly refining and improving its processes, optimizing its existing amorphous alloy compositions for various applications, and developing and improving new bulk amorphous alloy compositions.

The Company’s revenues are derived from i) selling bulk amorphous alloy custom products and parts for applications which include, but are not limited to, non-consumer electronic devices, medical products, automotive components, and sports and leisure goods; ii) selling tooling and prototype parts such as demonstration parts and test samples for customers with products in development; and iii) product licensing and royalty revenue.