JOINT VENTURE, TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AND OTHER AGREEMENTS WITH MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Jul. 28, 2013	Jul. 29, 2012	Apr. 29, 2012	Jul. 28, 2013	Jul. 29, 2012	Oct. 28, 2012
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Variable interest entity, methodology for determining whether entity is primary beneficiary				This joint venture is a variable interest entity ("VIE") (as that term is defined in the Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") because all costs of the joint venture are passed on to the Company and Micron through purchase agreements they have entered into with the joint venture, and it is dependent upon the Company and Micron for any additional cash requirements. On a quarterly basis the Company reassesses whether its interest in MP Mask gives it a controlling financial interest in this VIE. The purpose of this quarterly reassessment is to identify the primary beneficiary (which is defined in the ASC as the entity that consolidates a VIE) of the VIE. As a result of the reassessment in the current quarter, the Company determined that Micron is still the primary beneficiary of the VIE, by virtue of its tie-breaking voting rights within MP Mask's Board of Managers, thereby giving it the power to direct the activities of MP Mask that most significantly impact its economic performance, including its decision making authority in the ordinary course of business and its purchasing the majority of products produced by the VIE.
Cost of sales	$ 82,574,000	$ 84,312,000		$ 243,206,000	$ 258,598,000
Research and development expenses and other	4,985,000	5,221,000		14,380,000	14,106,000
Amount owed to MP Mask	7,200,000			7,200,000		6,400,000
Accounts receivable	82,573,000			82,573,000		75,685,000
Additional investment in joint venture		7,400,000			13,300,000
Maximum exposure to loss from investment in VIE	93,000,000			93,000,000		93,300,000
Income (loss) from equity-method investee	0	0		(200,000)	0
Payment to purchase U.S. nanoFab facility			35,000,000
Equity Method Investee [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Cost of sales	2,200,000	1,600,000		7,600,000	5,700,000
Research and development expenses and other	200,000	200,000		700,000	700,000
Co-venturer [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Accounts receivable	$ 5,800,000			$ 5,800,000		$ 9,000,000