Segment, Customer and Geographical Reporting (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 10,085,000	$ 11,296,000	$ 19,228,000	$ 22,493,000
Gross profit	$ 3,788,000	$ 4,078,000	$ 7,313,000	$ 8,042,000
GM %	38.00%	36.00%	38.00%	36.00%
SG&A	$ 3,791,000	$ 4,037,000	$ 7,239,000	$ 7,843,000
Gain on sale of assets	0	0	0	(4,000)
Operating income (loss)	(3,000)	41,000	74,000	203,000
Depreciation and amortization	313,000	327,000	624,000	652,000
Capital expenditures	181,000	379,000	292,000	982,000
Intangibles, net	1,057,000	1,156,000	1,057,000	1,156,000	$ 1,067,000
Goodwill	5,838,000	6,048,000	5,838,000	6,048,000	5,898,000
Total assets	27,976,000	26,726,000	27,976,000	26,726,000	$ 26,369,000
Optics [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	5,281,000	6,428,000	9,686,000	12,635,000
Gross profit	$ 1,913,000	$ 2,208,000	$ 3,487,000	$ 4,318,000
GM %	36.00%	34.00%	36.00%	34.00%
SG&A	$ 1,597,000	$ 1,882,000	$ 2,924,000	$ 3,634,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	4,000
Operating income (loss)	316,000	326,000	563,000	688,000
Depreciation and amortization	237,000	225,000	471,000	454,000
Capital expenditures	103,000	329,000	194,000	894,000
Intangibles, net	465,000	608,000	465,000	608,000
Goodwill	899,000	1,109,000	899,000	1,109,000
Total assets	19,705,000	17,653,000	19,705,000	17,653,000
Contract Research [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	4,804,000	4,868,000	9,542,000	9,858,000
Gross profit	$ 1,875,000	$ 1,870,000	$ 3,826,000	$ 3,724,000
GM %	39.00%	38.00%	40.00%	38.00%
SG&A	$ 1,802,000	$ 1,800,000	$ 3,542,000	$ 3,506,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	0
Operating income (loss)	73,000	70,000	284,000	218,000
Depreciation and amortization	73,000	85,000	147,000	164,000
Capital expenditures	34,000	30,000	34,000	37,000
Intangibles, net	213,000	247,000	213,000	247,000
Goodwill	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000
Total assets	7,477,000	8,502,000	7,477,000	8,502,000
Biomedical [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	0	0	0	0
Gross profit	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
GM %	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
SG&A	$ 392,000	$ 355,000	$ 773,000	$ 703,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	0
Operating income (loss)	(392,000)	(355,000)	(773,000)	(703,000)
Depreciation and amortization	3,000	17,000	6,000	34,000
Capital expenditures	44,000	20,000	64,000	51,000
Intangibles, net	379,000	301,000	379,000	301,000
Goodwill	0	0	0	0
Total assets	$ 794,000	$ 571,000	$ 794,000	$ 571,000