Basis of Presentation (Details)		1 Months Ended										3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 25, 2021 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2023 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2022 USD ($)	May 31, 2022 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2022 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2021 USD ($)	May 31, 2021 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2021 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2023 USD ($) company	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) company	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2020
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of equity method investments | company												5	5
Investments, equity method												$ 16,546,000	$ 14,607,000
AXT-Tongmei, Inc | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Cash consideration								$ 1
Minority Investors [Member]
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Loan amount		$ 200,000
Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd. | Loan from related party
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Sale of subsidiary shares to noncontrolling interests						$ 4,500,000
Increase in redeemable noncontrolling interests					$ 100,000
Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd. | Loan from related party | ChaoYang Xinshuo
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Loan amount																$ 1,000,000.0	$ 900,000
Sale of subsidiary shares to noncontrolling interests						1,900,000
Amount paid to subsidiary					600,000	700,000
Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd. | Loan from related party | Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Sale of subsidiary shares to noncontrolling interests						2,600,000
Amount paid to subsidiary					800,000	$ 1,100,000
Increase in noncontrolling interest					$ 1,400,000		$ 2,200,000
Increase in redeemable noncontrolling interests							$ 200,000
Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Investment value, agreement amount									$ 1,800,000	$ 3,000,000.0
Investments, equity method										$ 1,800,000
Ownership (as a percent)				58.50%	58.50%	58.50%	58.50%		58.50%	58.50%
Initial funding									$ 1,500,000	$ 1,500,000
Increase in noncontrolling interest				$ 610,000
Further investment				600,000
Redeemable noncontrolling interest increased				57,000
ChaoYang ShuoMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Investment value, agreement amount						$ 4,400,000
Investments, equity method						$ 3,300,000
Ownership (as a percent)		75.00%				75.00%
Initial funding			$ 334,000
Increase in noncontrolling interest			406,000
Redeemable noncontrolling interest increased			73,000
ChaoYang KaiMei Quartz Co., Ltd
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Investment value, agreement amount						$ 7,600,000
Investments, equity method						$ 3,000,000.0						$ 1,665,000	$ 827,000
Ownership (as a percent)						40.00%						40.00%
Initial funding				2,200,000
Investment amount				900,000
ChaoYang ShuoMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Increase in noncontrolling interest		$ 200,000
Increase in redeemable noncontrolling interests		36,000
Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd Investment
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership														67.00%				63.00%
Percentage of outstanding shares														33.00%
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership								85.50%
Percentage of outstanding shares	7.28%											14.50%
Private equity ownership percentage	7.28%											14.50%
Percentage of key managers and contributors purchased														0.40%
Investment in new facility	$ 49,000,000													$ 48,100,000
Raised additional capital											$ 1,500,000
Transaction results in increase to noncontrolling interests								$ 1,200,000
Transaction results in increase to redeemable noncontrolling interests								$ 1,200,000
Increase in redeemable noncontrolling interests											$ 1,500,000			$ 48,100,000
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology | Beijing Boyu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co Ltd
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Private equity ownership percentage														7.59%
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology | Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Private equity ownership percentage														0.38%
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology | Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Loan amount							$ 1,400,000								$ 1,400,000
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology | Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd. | Loan from related party
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Increase in noncontrolling interest					$ 1,400,000
Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology | Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Investment amount									$ 900,000	$ 900,000
Further investment				800,000
Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd Investment
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Percentage of outstanding shares														8.50%
Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd Investment | Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Private equity ownership percentage														0.38%
Chao Yang XinMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co. Ltd. | ChaoYang ShuoMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Initial funding			$ 1,000,000.0	$ 1,000,000.0
ChaoYang JinMei Gallium Ltd. | ChaoYang ShuoMei High Purity Semiconductor Materials Co., Ltd.
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Loan amount		$ 500,000