Debt (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Apr. 04, 2015	Mar. 29, 2014	Jun. 30, 2010	Oct. 09, 2014	Jan. 03, 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unamortized discount	$ 3,765,000				$ 8,824,000
Convertible Notes (Textual) [Abstract]
Payment of convertible notes embedded conversion derivative liability	(77,139,000)	0
Proceeds from from convertible notes hedges	77,139,000	0
Convertible Senior Notes Due 2015 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount, issued			350,000,000
Stated interest rate of Senior Notes	2.625%
Unamortized discount	2,470,000				7,500,000
Convertible Notes (Textual) [Abstract]
Principal amount outstanding	296,137,000				349,999,000
Face value of notes tendered for early conversion and settled	53,900,000
Maturity date of Convertible Senior Notes	Jun. 01, 2015
Warrants to purchase shares of common stock price per share (in usd per share)	$ 10.78
Conversion rate of notes	132.5205 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes, which is equivalent to a conversion price of approximately $7.55 per share of Cadence common stock.
Event 1	Closing stock price greater than $9.81 for at least 20 of the last 30 trading days in a fiscal quarter (convertible only for subsequent quarter).
Event 2	Specified corporate transactions
Event 3	Note trading price falls below a calculated minimum
Conversion rate of convertible senior notes subject to certain conversion rate adjustments (in usd per share)	$ 7.55
Condition 1	Upon certain fundamental corporate changes prior to maturity, the 2015 Note holders could require Cadence to repurchase their notes for cash equal to the principal amount of the notes plus accrued interest. Upon certain fundamental changes prior to maturity, if Cadence’s stock price were between $6.16 and $40.00 per share at that time, the holders of the notes would be entitled to an increase to the conversion rate. This is referred to as a “make-whole premium.”
Minimum closing price of common stock to make whole premium in the form of increase to conversion rate (in usd per share)	$ 6.16
Maximum closing price of common stock to make whole premium in form of increase to conversion rate (in usd per share)	$ 40.00
Conversion rate for convertible senior notes per thousand principal amount of notes	132.5205
Debt instrument principal amount conversion rate for specified shares of common stock	1,000
If converted value of convertible senior notes	726,000,000
Total estimated fair value	726,500,000				873,900,000
Fair value of 2015 notes embedded conversion derivative at the time of issuance			76,600,000
Estimated fair value of 2015 Notes embedded conversion derivative at the balance sheet date	429,800,000				523,900,000
Payment of convertible notes embedded conversion derivative liability	(77,100,000)
Cost of 2015 Notes Hedges			76,600,000
Estimated fair value of 2015 Notes hedges at the balance sheet date	429,800,000				523,900,000
Proceeds from from convertible notes hedges	77,100,000
Impact on Income statement related to fair value adjustments of 2015 Notes Embedded Conversion Derivative and 2015 Notes Hedges	0	0
Shares of common stock that can be purchased under warrants (in shares)	46,400,000
Amount received in cash proceeds from the sale of warrants			37,500,000
Notes Warrants expiration date description	various dates from September 2015 through December 2015
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior Notes Due Twenty-Twenty Four [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount, issued	350,000,000			350,000,000	350,000,000
Stated interest rate of Senior Notes				4.375%
Proceeds from Senior Notes, net				342,400,000
Unamortized discount	1,295,000			1,400,000	1,324,000
Debt issuance costs				$ 6,200,000