Segment, Customer and Geographical Reporting (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 10,542,000	$ 8,836,000	$ 29,985,000	$ 28,065,000
Gross profit	$ 4,175,000	$ 3,364,000	$ 11,659,000	$ 10,679,000
GM %	40.00%	38.00%	39.00%	38.00%
Operating expenses	$ 3,565,000	$ 3,636,000	$ 11,175,000	$ 10,876,000
Operating income (loss)	610,000	(272,000)	484,000	(197,000)
Depreciation and amortization	317,000	301,000	927,000	926,000
Capital expenditures	803,000	259,000	1,853,000	533,000
Intangibles, net	959,000	1,067,000	959,000	1,067,000	$ 987,000
Goodwill	5,907,000	5,894,000	5,907,000	5,894,000	5,940,000
Total assets	29,642,000	28,182,000	29,642,000	28,182,000	$ 29,097,000
Optics [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	6,159,000	4,837,000	17,011,000	14,524,000
Gross profit	$ 2,299,000	$ 1,655,000	$ 6,038,000	$ 5,144,000
GM %	37.00%	34.00%	35.00%	35.00%
Operating expenses	$ 1,721,000	$ 1,619,000	$ 5,154,000	$ 4,544,000
Operating income (loss)	578,000	36,000	884,000	600,000
Depreciation and amortization	261,000	248,000	738,000	719,000
Capital expenditures	707,000	179,000	1,635,000	373,000
Intangibles, net	408,000	468,000	408,000	468,000
Goodwill	968,000	955,000	968,000	955,000
Total assets	21,117,000	19,488,000	21,117,000	19,488,000
Contract Research [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	4,383,000	3,999,000	12,974,000	13,541,000
Gross profit	$ 1,876,000	$ 1,709,000	$ 5,621,000	$ 5,535,000
GM %	43.00%	43.00%	43.00%	41.00%
Operating expenses	$ 1,760,000	$ 1,640,000	$ 5,297,000	$ 5,182,000
Operating income (loss)	116,000	69,000	324,000	353,000
Depreciation and amortization	53,000	52,000	179,000	200,000
Capital expenditures	76,000	54,000	153,000	88,000
Intangibles, net	171,000	205,000	171,000	205,000
Goodwill	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000	4,939,000
Total assets	8,018,000	8,004,000	8,018,000	8,004,000
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	$ 84,000	$ 377,000	$ 724,000	$ 1,150,000
Operating income (loss)	(84,000)	(377,000)	(724,000)	(1,150,000)
Depreciation and amortization	3,000	1,000	10,000	7,000
Capital expenditures	20,000	26,000	65,000	72,000
Intangibles, net	380,000	394,000	380,000	394,000
Goodwill	0	0	0	0
Total assets	$ 507,000	$ 690,000	$ 507,000	$ 690,000