Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies (Details)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2011 USD ($)	Jul. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 JPY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2011 JPY (¥)	Dec. 29, 2012 Stock options, RSU's and ESPP shares	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock options, RSU's and ESPP shares	Jan. 01, 2011 Stock options, RSU's and ESPP shares	Dec. 29, 2012 Building	Oct. 01, 2011 Avnet, Inc.	Dec. 29, 2012 Avnet, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2011 Avnet, Inc.	Jan. 01, 2011 Avnet, Inc.	Dec. 29, 2012 Sales Revenue Sell-Through Distributors	Dec. 31, 2011 Sales Revenue Sell-Through Distributors	Jan. 01, 2011 Sales Revenue Sell-Through Distributors	Dec. 29, 2012 Minimum	Dec. 29, 2012 Minimum Equipment and software	Dec. 29, 2012 Minimum Tooling	Dec. 29, 2012 Maximum USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Maximum Equipment and software	Dec. 29, 2012 Maximum Tooling	Dec. 29, 2012 2013
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Fiscal year duration																									P52W			P53W			P52W
General Discussion of Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities [Abstract]
Foreign exchange contracts outstanding												¥ 150,000,000	¥ 140,000,000
Fair value adjustment through earnings on foreign exchnage contracts not designated as hedges																												100,000
Risks and Uncertainties [Abstract]
Allowance for doubtful accounts	1,100,000				900,000				1,100,000	900,000
Deferred Revenue and Credits [Abstract]
Inventory valued at published list price and held by sell-through distributors with right of return	38,623,000				40,147,000				38,623,000	40,147,000
Allowance for distributor advances	(22,450,000)				(23,300,000)				(22,450,000)	(23,300,000)
Deferred cost of sales related to inventory held by sell-through distributors	(5,620,000)				(6,086,000)				(5,620,000)	(6,086,000)
Total Deferred income and allowances on sales to sell-through distributors	10,553,000				10,761,000				10,553,000	10,761,000
Resale of product by sell-through distributors as a percentage of total revenue																						55.00%	61.00%	56.00%
Revenue from Avnet									55.00%	61.00%	56.00%							20.00%	0.00%	17.00%	17.00%
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Estimated useful lives of PP&E																	30 years									3 years	1 year		5 years	3 years
Undistributed earnings of our Chinese subsidiary	2,000,000								2,000,000
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Basic and diluted Net (loss) income	(7,175,000)	(2,175,000)	(12,542,000)	(7,714,000)	40,945,000	13,337,000	13,031,000	10,919,000	(29,606,000)	78,232,000	57,072,000
Shares used in basic Net (loss) income per share									117,194,000	117,875,000	116,726,000
Dilutive effect of stock options, RSUs and ESPP shares									0	3,264,000	3,417,000
Shares used in diluted Net (loss) income per share									117,194,000	121,139,000	120,143,000
Basic Net (loss) income per share	$ (0.06)	$ (0.02)	$ (0.11)	$ (0.07)	$ 0.35	$ 0.11	$ 0.11	$ 0.09	$ (0.25)	$ 0.66	$ 0.49
Diluted Net (loss) income per share (in dollars per share)	$ (0.06)	$ (0.02)	$ (0.11)	$ (0.07)	$ 0.34	$ 0.11	$ 0.11	$ 0.09	$ (0.25)	$ 0.65	$ 0.48
Aggregate antidilutive shares excluded from computation of diluted net (loss) income per share														10,600,000	3,900,000	3,000,000
Income taxes paid									$ 1,000,000	$ 1,500,000	$ 600,000