10. Other Income and Expense (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Other Income And Expense Details
Unrealized foreign exchange gain (loss)	$ 43	$ (185)
Realized foreign exchange gain (loss)	319	66
Government subsidy income	199AAOI_GovernmentSubsidyIncome	80AAOI_GovernmentSubsidyIncome
Other non-operating gain (loss)	141us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingGainsLosses	11us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingGainsLosses
Gain (loss) on disposal of assets	(10)us-gaap_GainLossOnDispositionOfAssets1	1us-gaap_GainLossOnDispositionOfAssets1
Total other income and expense	$ 692us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense	$ (27)us-gaap_OtherNonoperatingIncomeExpense

Government subsidy income

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Amount before tax of foreign currency transaction realized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement.

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Amount before tax of foreign currency transaction unrealized gain (loss) recognized in the income statement.

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Amount of gain (loss) on sale or disposal of assets, including but not limited to property plant and equipment, intangible assets and equity in securities of subsidiaries or equity method investee.

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Other aggregate amounts of gains or losses resulting from nonoperating activities (for example, interest and dividend revenue, property, plant and equipment impairment loss, and so forth.) not otherwise defined.

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The net amount of other income and expense amounts, the components of which are not separately disclosed on the income statement, resulting from ancillary business-related activities (that is, excluding major activities considered part of the normal operations of the business) also known as other nonoperating income (expense) recognized for the period. Such amounts may include: (a) dividends, (b) interest on securities, (c) net gains or losses on securities, (d) unusual costs, (e) gains or losses on foreign exchange transactions, and (f) miscellaneous other income and expense items.

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