SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	12 Months Ended
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Fiscal Period	QuickLogic's fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to December 31.
Liquidity	Liquidity The Company has financed its operations and capital investments through sales of common stock, capital and operating leases, and bank lines of credit. As of December 31, 2017, the Company's principal sources of liquidity consisted of its cash and cash equivalents of $16.5 million and an additional $6.0 million credit line is available for draw at the Company's election upon credit approval under its revolving line of credit arrangement with Silicon Valley Bank. The revolving line of credit will expire in September 2018 and the Company would need to renew this line of credit or find an alternative lender prior to the expiration date. Further, any violations of debt covenants during 2018 will restrict the Company’s access to any additional cash draws from the revolving line of credit, and may require immediate repayment of the outstanding debt amounts. Additionally, the Company has an accumulated deficit of approximately $254 million, has experienced net losses in the past years and expects such losses to continue through at least the end of fiscal year 2018 as the Company continues to develop new products, applications and technologies. On August 31, 2017, the Company entered into a Fourth Amendment to the Third Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement with Silicon Valley Bank to extend the line of credit for one year through September 24, 2018 and to modify certain financial covenants. This amendment requires the Company to maintain (i) unrestricted cash or cash equivalents at the Silicon Valley Bank or at any of its affiliates at all times in an amount of at least $6,000,000; and (ii) a ratio of quick assets of at least 1.40 to 1.00, tested as of the last day of each month, with the numerator equal to quick assets and (a) the denominator equal to the sum of (1) current liabilities minus (2) the current portion of deferred revenue plus (3) the long term obligations. The Company is in compliance with all loan covenants as of the end of the current reporting period. As of December 31, 2017, we had $6.0 million of outstanding revolving line of credit with an interest rate of 4.31%. See Note 5 for more details. On March 28, 2017, the Company issued 11.3 million shares of common stock at a price of $1.50 per share, $0.001 par value. The Company received net proceeds of approximately $15.2 million, after deducting underwriting commissions and other offering-related expenses. The Company uses the net proceeds for working capital, to accelerate the development of next generation products and for general corporate purposes. The Company may also use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire and/or license technologies and acquire and/or invest in businesses when the opportunity arises; however, the Company currently has no commitments or agreements and are not involved in any negotiations with respect to any such transactions. The shares were offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement filed on December 9, 2016 with the SEC, as amended on March 15, 2017, which was declared effective by the SEC on March 16, 2017, and as supplemented by a prospectus supplement dated March 23, 2017, which were filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Company currently uses its cash to fund its capital expenditures and operating losses. Based on past performance and current expectations, the Company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents, together with available financial resources from the revolving line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank will be sufficient to fund its operations and capital expenditures and provide adequate working capital for the next twelve months. The Company’s revolving line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank will expire in September 2018 and the Company would need to renew this line of credit or find an alternative lender prior to the expiration date. Further, any violations of debt covenants during 2018 will restrict the Company’s access to any additional cash draws from the revolving line of credit, and may require immediate repayment of the outstanding debt amounts. Management believes that it is probable that the Company will be able to either renew the revolving line of credit or obtain alternative financing on the acceptable terms. Various factors affect he Company's liquidity, including, among others: the level of revenue and gross profit as a result of the cyclicality of the semiconductor industry; the conversion of design opportunities into revenue; market acceptance of existing and new products including solutions based on its ArcticLink^® and PolarPro^® solution platforms; fluctuations in revenue as a result of product end-of-life; fluctuations in revenue as a result of the stage in the product life cycle of its customers' products; costs of securing access to and availability of adequate manufacturing capacity; levels of inventories; wafer purchase commitments; customer credit terms; the amount and timing of research and development expenditures; the timing of new product introductions; production volumes; product quality; sales and marketing efforts; the value and liquidity of its investment portfolio; changes in operating assets and liabilities; the ability to obtain or renew debt financing and to remain in compliance with the terms of existing credit facilities; the ability to raise funds from the sale of equity in the Company; the issuance and exercise of stock options and participation in the Company's employee stock purchase plan; and other factors related to the uncertainties of the industry and global economics. Over the longer term, the Company anticipates that sales generated from its new product offerings, existing cash and cash equivalents, together with financial resources from its revolving line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank, assuming renewal of the line of credit or the Company entering into a new debt agreement with an alternative lender prior to the expiration of the revolving line of credit in September 2018, and its ability to raise additional capital in the public capital markets will be sufficient to satisfy its operations and capital expenditures. However, the Company cannot provide any assurance that it will be able to raise additional capital, if required, or that such capital will be available on terms acceptable to the Company. The inability of the Company to generate sufficient sales from its new product offerings and/or raise additional capital if needed could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations and financial condition, including its ability to maintain compliance with its lender’s financial covenants.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, in the United States of America or US GAAP, and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and include the accounts of QuickLogic and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated.
Foreign Currency Transactions	Foreign Currency The functional currency of the Company's non-U.S. operations is the U.S. dollar. Accordingly, all monetary assets and liabilities of these foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars at current period-end exchange rates and non-monetary assets and related elements of expense are translated using historical exchange rates. Income and expense elements are translated to U.S. dollars using the average exchange rates in effect during the period. Gains and losses from the foreign currency transactions of these subsidiaries are recorded as interest income and other expense, net in the statements of operations. Foreign Currency Transactions All of the Company's sales and cost of manufacturing are transacted in U.S. dollars. The Company conducts a portion of its research and development activities in India and has sales and marketing activities in various countries outside of the United States. Most of these international expenses are incurred in local currency. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses, which are not significant, are included in interest income and other expense, net, as they occur. Operating expenses denominated in foreign currencies were approximately 25%, 18% and 17% of total operating expenses in 2017, 2016 and 2015 respectively. The Company incurred a majority of these foreign currency expenses in India, the United Kingdom and Korea in 2017, 2016 and 2015. The Company has not used derivative financial instruments to hedge its exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency and, therefore, is susceptible to fluctuations in foreign exchange gains or losses in its results of operations in future reporting periods.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, particularly in relation to revenue recognition; the allowance for doubtful accounts; sales returns; valuation of investments; valuation of long-lived assets; valuation of inventories including identification of excess quantities, market value and obsolescence; measurement of stock-based compensation awards; accounting for income taxes and estimating accrued liabilities.
Concentration of Credit and Suppliers	Concentration of Risk The Company's accounts receivable are denominated in U.S. dollars and are derived primarily from sales to customers located in North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and generally does not require collateral. See Note 11 for information regarding concentrations associated with accounts receivable. Concentration of Credit and Suppliers Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with high quality institutions. The Company's accounts receivable are denominated in U.S. dollars and are derived primarily from sales to customers located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and generally does not require collateral. See Note 11 for information regarding concentrations associated with accounts receivable. The Company depends on a limited number of contract manufacturers, subcontractors, and suppliers for wafer fabrication, assembly, programming and test of its devices, and for the supply of programming equipment, and these services are typically provided by one supplier for each of the Company's devices. The Company generally purchases these single or limited source services through standard purchase orders. Because the Company relies on independent subcontractors to perform these services, it cannot directly control its product delivery schedules, costs or quality levels. The Company's future success also depends on the financial viability of its independent subcontractors.
Cash Equivalents	Cash Equivalents The Company considers all short-term, highly liquid investments with an original or a remaining maturity at purchase of ninety days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company's investment portfolio included in cash equivalents is generally comprised of investments that meet high credit quality standards. The Company's investment portfolio consists of money market funds.
Fair Value	Fair Value The guidance for the fair value option for financial assets and financial liabilities provides companies the irrevocable option to measure many financial assets and liabilities at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in earnings or equity. The Company has not elected to measure any financial assets or liabilities at fair value that were not previously required to be measured at fair value.
Inventories	Inventories In accordance with ASU No. 2015-11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the measurement of Inventory, which was adopted by the Company in the first quarter of 2017, inventories are stated at the lower of standard cost or net realizable value. Standard cost approximates actual cost on a first-in, first-out basis. The Company routinely evaluates quantities and values of its inventories in light of current market conditions and market trends and records reserves for quantities in excess of demand and product obsolescence. The evaluation, which inherently involves judgments as to assumptions about expected future demand and the impact of market conditions on these assumptions, takes into consideration historic usage, expected demand, anticipated sales price, the stage in the product life cycle of its customers' products, new product development schedules, the effect new products might have on the sale of existing products, product obsolescence, customer design activity, customer concentrations, product merchantability and other factors. Market conditions are subject to change. Actual consumption of inventories could differ from forecast demand, and this difference could have a material impact on the Company's gross margin and inventory balances based on additional provisions for excess or obsolete inventories or a benefit from inventories previously written down. The Company also regularly reviews the cost of inventories against estimated net realizable value (previously market value) and records a lower of cost or net realizable value (previously market value) reserve for inventories that have a cost in excess of estimated net realizable value (previously market value), which could have a material impact on the Company's gross margin and inventory balances based on additional write-downs to net realizable value or a benefit from inventories previously written down. The Company's semiconductor products have historically had an unusually long product life cycle and obsolescence has not been a significant factor in the valuation of inventories. However, as the Company pursues opportunities in the mobile market and continues to develop new solutions and products, the Company believes its product life cycle will be shorter which could increase the potential for obsolescence. A significant decrease in demand could result in an increase in excess inventory on hand. Although the Company makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of its forecasts of future product demand, any significant unanticipated changes in demand or frequent new product developments could have a significant impact on the value of its inventory and its results of operations.
Property and Equipment and Long-Lived Assets	Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally one to seven years. Amortization of leasehold improvements and capital leases is computed on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally one to seven years. Long-Lived Assets The Company reviews the recoverability of its long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, annually and when events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate that the carrying value of the asset or asset group may not be recoverable. The assessment of possible impairment is based on the Company's ability to recover the carrying value of the asset or asset group from the expected future pre-tax cash flows, undiscounted and without interest charges, of the related operations. If these cash flows are less than the carrying value of the asset or asset group, an impairment loss is recognized for the difference between the estimated fair value and the carrying value, and the carrying value of the related assets is reduced by this difference. The measurement of impairment requires management to estimate future cash flows and the fair value of long-lived assets.
Licensed Intellectual Property	Licensed Intellectual Property The Company licenses intellectual property that is incorporated into its products. Costs incurred under license agreements prior to the establishment of technological feasibility are included in research and development expense as incurred. Costs incurred for intellectual property once technological feasibility has been established and that can be used in multiple products are capitalized as a long-term asset. Once a product incorporating licensed intellectual property has production sales, the amount is amortized over the estimated useful life of the asset, generally up to five years.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition The Company supplies standard products which must be programmed before they can be used in an application. The Company's products may be programmed by us, distributors, end-customers or third parties. The Company recognizes revenue as products are shipped if evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred, the sales price is fixed or determinable, collection of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured and product returns are reasonably estimable. Revenue is recognized upon shipment of programmed and unprogrammed parts to both OEM customers and distributors, provided that legal title and risk of ownership have transferred. Parts held by distributors may be returned for quality reasons only under its standard warranty policy. The Company records allowance for sales returns. Amounts recorded for sales returns were not material for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $93,000 and $19,000 for the years ended and January 1, 2017 and January 3, 2016, respectively. The Company accounts for its Intellectual Property or IP license revenues and related services in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board or FASB Accounting Standards Codification or ASC No. 985-605, Software Revenue Recognition. Revenues are recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists and no further obligation exists, delivery has occurred, the license fee is fixed or determinable, and collection is reasonably assured. A license may be perpetual or time limited in its application. The Company’s IP license agreement contains multiple elements including post-contract customer support. For multiple element arrangements involving software and other software-related deliverables, vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value (“VSOE”) must exist to allocate the total fee among all delivered and non-essential undelivered elements of the arrangement. If undelivered elements of the arrangement are essential to the functionality of the product, revenue is deferred until the essential elements are delivered. If VSOE does not exist for one or more non-essential undelivered elements, revenue is deferred until such evidence exists for the undelivered elements, or until all elements are delivered, whichever is earlier. VSOE of each element is based on historical evidence of stand-alone sales of these elements to third parties including substantive renewal rate as stated in the agreement. When VSOE does not exist for undelivered items, the entire arrangement fee is recognized ratably over the performance period.
Warranty Costs	Warranty Costs The Company warrants finished goods against defects in material and workmanship under normal use for twelve months from the date of shipment. The Company does not have significant product warranty related costs or liabilities.
Advertising	Advertising Costs related to advertising and promotion expenditures are charged to “Selling, general and administrative” expense in the consolidated statements of operations as incurred.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation The Company accounts for stock-based compensation under the provisions of the amended authoritative guidance, and related interpretations which require the measurement and recognition of expense related to the fair value of stock-based compensation awards. The fair value of stock-based compensation awards is measured at the grant date and re-measured upon modification, as appropriate. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of employee stock options and rights to purchase shares under the Company's 1999 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP, consistent with the provisions of the amended authoritative guidance. The fair value of restricted stock awards, or RSAs, and restricted stock units, or RSUs, is based on the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant. Equity compensation awards which vest with service are expensed on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Service based Performance awards are expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. If performance conditions are other than service, an accelerated method of amortization is used, which treats each vesting tranche as a separate award over the expected life of the unit. The Company regularly reviews the assumptions used to compute the fair value of its stock-based awards and it will revise its assumptions as appropriate. In the event that assumptions used to compute the fair value of its stock-based awards are later determined to be inaccurate or if the Company changes its assumptions significantly in future periods, stock-based compensation expense and the results of operations could be materially impacted. See Note 10 for further details.
Accounting for Income Taxes	Accounting for Income Taxes The Company is required to estimate its income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. This process involves estimating the Company's actual current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting from different tax and accounting treatment of items, such as deferred revenue, allowance for doubtful accounts, the impact of equity awards, depreciation and amortization and employee related accruals. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which are included on the Company's balance sheets. The Company must then assess the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and to the extent the Company believes that recovery is not likely, it must establish a valuation allowance. Significant management judgment is required in determining the Company's provision for income taxes, the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against the Company's net deferred tax assets. The Company's deferred tax assets, consisting primarily of net operating loss carryforwards, amounted to $56.0 million tax effected as of the end of 2017. The Company has also recorded a valuation allowance of $55.9 million, tax effected, as of the end of 2017 due to uncertainties related to the Company's ability to utilize its U.S. deferred tax assets before they expire. In making such determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, ability to project future taxable income, and results of recent operations. If the Company determines that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its net recorded amount, the Company would make an adjustment to the deferred tax assets valuation allowance, which would reduce its provision for income taxes. The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes using a two-step approach for recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. The Company classifies the liability for unrecognized tax benefits as current to the extent that it anticipates payment (or receipt) of cash within one year. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are recognized in the provision for income taxes. Accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability line in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) includes all temporary changes in equity (net assets) during a period from non-owner sources. The Company's comprehensive loss equaled to net loss for all periods presented.
New Accounting Pronouncements	New Accounting Pronouncements Recently adopted accounting pronouncements: In July 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU No. 2015-11, Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the measurement of Inventory, which amends the accounting guidance on the valuation of inventory. The guidance requires an entity to measure in scope inventory at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. The amendment applies to inventory valued at first-in, first-out or average cost. This guidance is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of 2017 prospectively with no material effect on the consolidated financial statements. Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted: In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which supersedes nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is to recognize revenues when promised goods or services are transferred to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 defines a five-step process to achieve this core principle and, in doing so, more judgment and estimates may be required within the revenue recognition process than are required under existing GAAP. In applying this new guidance to contracts within its scope, an entity will: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (2) identify the performance obligation in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. Additionally, this new guidance would require significantly expanded disclosures about revenue. The new standard allows for two transition methods : (i) a full retrospective method applied to each prior reporting period presented, or (ii) a modified retrospective method applied with the cumulative effect of adoption recognized on adoption. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. In March, April, May and December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, ASU 2016-10, ASU 2016-12 and ASU 2016-20, respectively, which provide supplemental guidance and clarification to ASU 2014-09. The Company was required to adopt ASU 2014-09 on January 1, 2018, the first day of the Company's 2018 fiscal year. The Company will adopt ASU 2014-09 in the first quarter of 2018 and apply the modified retrospective approach. The Company believes that the timing of recognizing revenue under its contracts with customers for sales of semiconductor products will not change significantly, but the timing of revenue recognition for its IP licensing and related services will likely be impacted, after the adoption of ASU 2014-09. This new standard will not materially affect the Company's financial statements. The new standard requires comprehensive disclosure of quantitative and qualitative information that enables users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The Company expects to expand its revenue disclosure upon adoption of the new standard to meet this requirement. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. The new standard establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of our pending adoption of the new standard on the consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. This update clarifies how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. This ASU is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim periods therein with early adoption permitted and must be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. The Company does not currently anticipate that the adoption of this standard will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-16, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Intra-Entity transfers of assets other than inventory. This update removes the requirement under which the income tax consequences of intra-entity transfers are deferred until the assets are ultimately sold to an outside party, except for transfers of inventory. The tax consequences of such transfers would be recognized in tax expense when the transfers occur. The standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not currently anticipate that the adoption of this standard will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). ASU 2016-18 requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-18 is effective for all interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2016-18 to have a material impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements. In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718). ASU No. 2017-09 provides clarification on when modification accounting should be used for changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. This ASU does not change the accounting for modifications but clarifies that modification accounting guidance should only be applied if there is a change to the value, vesting conditions or award classification and would not be required if the changes are considered non-substantive. The amendments of this ASU are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2017-09 to have a material impact on the Company's Consolidates Financial Statements.
Net Loss Per Share	Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share was computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus potentially dilutive common shares outstanding during the period under the treasury stock method. In computing diluted net loss per share, the weighted average stock price for the period is used in determining the number of shares assumed to be purchased from the exercise of stock options and warrants.