SEGMENT INFORMATION, Revenue and Gross Profit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	2us-gaap_NumberOfReportableSegments
Number of business units	4affx_NumberOfBusinessUnits
Operating Segments [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue:	$ 88,717	$ 82,971
Gross Profit:	54,838	46,555
Operating Segments [Member] \| Affymetrix Core [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue:	64,445	59,447
Gross Profit:	40,627	35,004
Operating Segments [Member] \| eBioscience [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue:	24,272	23,524
Gross Profit:	$ 14,211	$ 11,551

Number of Business Units

No definition available.

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- Definition

Aggregate revenue less cost of goods and services sold or operating expenses directly attributable to the revenue generation activity.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1,2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26872669&loc=d3e20235-122688

+ Details

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- Definition

Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of revenue recognized from goods sold, services rendered, insurance premiums, or other activities that constitute an earning process. Includes, but is not limited to, investment and interest income before deduction of interest expense when recognized as a component of revenue, and sales and trading gain (loss).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26872669&loc=d3e20235-122688

+ Details

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- Details

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- Details

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