Basis of Presentation (Details)		1 Months Ended												3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 25, 2021 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2023 USD ($)	May 31, 2023 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 ($)	Mar. 31, 2024 USD ($) company	Dec. 31, 2023 USD ($) company	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2023 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2023 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Number of equity method investments | company														3	3
Investments, equity method														$ 13,198,000	$ 12,476,000
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
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Loan amount		$ 200,000	$ 300,000	$ 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%
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		600,000		900,000				$ 3,000,000.0						$ 3,098,000	$ 3,154,000		$ 2,300,000	$ 600,000
Ownership (as a percent)								40.00%						40.00%	40.00%
Initial funding						2,200,000
Investment amount						900,000
Additional investment																	$ 5,600,000
Payment for investment															$ 600,000
Emeishan Jia Mei High Purity Metals Co., Ltd Investment
Consolidation, Less than Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Parent Ownership Interest, Effects of Changes, Net [Line Items]
Ownership (as a percent)			25.00%											10.00%
Proceeds from sale of equity method investments			$ 827,000
Percentage of equity interest sold			15.00%											15.00%
Percentage of ownership, cost method			10.00%											10.00%
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	$ 400,000	200,000
Increase in redeemable noncontrolling interests		44,000	75,000	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 outstanding shares																33.00%
Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd Investment | 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
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
ChaoYang JinMei Gallium Ltd. | ChaoYang ShuoMei 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]
Loan amount		$ 600,000	$ 1,000,000.0