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Nature of the Business	12 Months Ended
Nature of the Business	Sep. 30, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of the Business	Nature of the Business Brooks Automation, Inc. (“Brooks” or the “Company”) is a leading worldwide provider of automation and cryogenic solutions for multiple markets including semiconductor manufacturing and life sciences. The Company's technologies, engineering competencies and global service capabilities provide customers speed to market and ensure high uptime and rapid response, which equate to superior value in their mission-critical controlled environments. Since 1978, the Company has been a leading partner to the global semiconductor manufacturing markets and through product development initiatives and strategic business acquisitions, Brooks has expanded its products and services to meet the needs of customers in the life science markets and in technology markets adjacent to semiconductor. In the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, the Company determined that its Granville-Phillips Gas Analysis & Vacuum Measurement ("Granville-Phillips") business met the criteria to be reported as a discontinued operation. As a result, the Company’s historical financial statements have been revised to present the operating results of the Granville-Phillips business as a discontinued operation. The results of operations from the Granville-Phillips business are presented as “Income from discontinued operations, net of tax” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Assets and liabilities identifiable within the Granville-Phillips business are reported as "Assets held for sale" and "Liabilities held for sale," respectively, in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company has not separated cash flows of the Granville-Phillips business from those of its continuing operations and has not revised its historical statements of cash flows. The discussion in the notes to these consolidated financial statements, unless otherwise noted, relate solely to the Company's continuing operations.