Segment, Customer and Geographical Reporting (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 10,255,000	$ 10,085,000	$ 19,443,000	$ 19,228,000
Gross profit	$ 3,945,000	$ 3,788,000	$ 7,485,000	$ 7,313,000
GM %	38.00%	38.00%	38.00%	38.00%
Operating expenses	$ 3,865,000	$ 3,791,000	$ 7,609,000	$ 7,239,000
Operating income (loss)	80,000	(3,000)	(124,000)	74,000
Depreciation and amortization	311,000	313,000	610,000	624,000
Capital expenditures	426,000	181,000	1,050,000	292,000
Intangibles, net	997,000	1,057,000	997,000	1,057,000	$ 987,000
Goodwill	6,009,000	5,838,000	6,009,000	5,838,000	5,940,000
Total assets	29,517,000	27,976,000	29,517,000	27,976,000	$ 29,097,000
Optics [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	5,910,000	5,281,000	10,853,000	9,686,000
Gross profit	$ 2,050,000	$ 1,913,000	$ 3,740,000	$ 3,487,000
GM %	35.00%	36.00%	34.00%	36.00%
Operating expenses	$ 1,858,000	$ 1,597,000	$ 3,433,000	$ 2,924,000
Operating income (loss)	192,000	316,000	307,000	563,000
Depreciation and amortization	247,000	237,000	477,000	471,000
Capital expenditures	339,000	103,000	928,000	194,000
Intangibles, net	455,000	465,000	455,000	465,000
Goodwill	1,070,000	899,000	1,070,000	899,000
Total assets	20,903,000	19,705,000	20,903,000	19,705,000
Contract Research [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	4,345,000	4,804,000	8,590,000	9,542,000
Gross profit	$ 1,895,000	$ 1,875,000	$ 3,745,000	$ 3,826,000
GM %	44.00%	39.00%	44.00%	40.00%
Operating expenses	$ 1,813,000	$ 1,802,000	$ 3,537,000	$ 3,542,000
Operating income (loss)	82,000	73,000	208,000	284,000
Depreciation and amortization	61,000	73,000	126,000	147,000
Capital expenditures	58,000	34,000	77,000	34,000
Intangibles, net	179,000	213,000	179,000	213,000
Goodwill	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000
Total assets	8,028,000	7,477,000	8,028,000	7,477,000
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	$ 194,000	$ 392,000	$ 639,000	$ 773,000
Operating income (loss)	(194,000)	(392,000)	(639,000)	(773,000)
Depreciation and amortization	3,000	3,000	7,000	6,000
Capital expenditures	29,000	44,000	45,000	64,000
Intangibles, net	363,000	379,000	363,000	379,000
Goodwill	0	0	0	0
Total assets	$ 586,000	$ 794,000	$ 586,000	$ 794,000