Segment, Customer and Geographical Reporting (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 8,836,000	$ 10,406,000	$ 28,065,000	$ 32,899,000
Gross profit	$ 3,364,000	$ 3,927,000	$ 10,679,000	$ 11,969,000
GM %	38.00%	38.00%	38.00%	36.00%
Operating Expenses, Total	$ 3,636,000	$ 3,601,000	$ 10,876,000	$ 11,439,000
Gain on sale of assets	0	0	0	(4,000)
Operating income (loss)	(272,000)	326,000	(197,000)	530,000
Depreciation and amortization	301,000	288,000	926,000	939,000
Capital expenditures	259,000	336,000	533,000	1,342,000
Intangibles, net	1,067,000	1,096,000	1,067,000	1,096,000	$ 1,067,000
Goodwill	5,894,000	5,940,000	5,894,000	5,940,000	5,898,000
Total assets	28,182,000	25,722,000	28,182,000	25,722,000	$ 26,369,000
Optics [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	4,837,000	5,780,000	14,524,000	18,415,000
Gross profit	$ 1,655,000	$ 2,012,000	$ 5,144,000	$ 6,330,000
GM %	34.00%	35.00%	35.00%	34.00%
Operating Expenses, Total	$ 1,619,000	$ 1,604,000	$ 4,544,000	$ 5,237,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	(4,000)
Operating income (loss)	36,000	408,000	600,000	1,097,000
Depreciation and amortization	248,000	247,000	719,000	700,000
Capital expenditures	179,000	330,000	373,000	1,224,000
Intangibles, net	468,000	549,000	468,000	549,000
Goodwill	955,000	1,001,000	955,000	1,001,000
Total assets	19,488,000	16,752,000	19,488,000	16,752,000
Contract Research [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	3,999,000	4,626,000	13,541,000	14,484,000
Gross profit	$ 1,709,000	$ 1,915,000	$ 5,535,000	$ 5,639,000
GM %	43.00%	41.00%	41.00%	39.00%
Operating Expenses, Total	$ 1,640,000	$ 1,601,000	$ 5,182,000	$ 5,107,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	0
Operating income (loss)	69,000	314,000	353,000	532,000
Depreciation and amortization	52,000	24,000	200,000	187,000
Capital expenditures	54,000	0	88,000	37,000
Intangibles, net	205,000	239,000	205,000	239,000
Goodwill	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000
Total assets	8,004,000	8,546,000	8,004,000	8,546,000
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%
Operating Expenses, Total	$ 377,000	$ 396,000	$ 1,150,000	$ 1,099,000
Gain on sale of assets			0	0
Operating income (loss)	(377,000)	(396,000)	(1,150,000)	(1,099,000)
Depreciation and amortization	1,000	17,000	7,000	52,000
Capital expenditures	26,000	6,000	72,000	81,000
Intangibles, net	394,000	308,000	394,000	308,000
Goodwill	0	0	0	0
Total assets	$ 690,000	$ 424,000	$ 690,000	$ 424,000