Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	May 01, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	EMCORE CORPORATION
Entity Central Index Key	0000808326
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		26,827,319