Debt - Additional Information (Detail)	6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended					6 Months Ended						1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 Term Loan USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Term Loan USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 Libor Plus Rate Term Loan	Jun. 30, 2014 Credit Facility Base Rate Term Loan	Jun. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Revolving Credit Facility USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility Libor Plus Rate	Jun. 30, 2014 Revolving Credit Facility Credit Facility Base Rate	Mar. 29, 2013 NeoPhotonics Semiconductor	Jun. 30, 2014 Notes Payable USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Notes Payable USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 Notes Payable NeoPhotonics Semiconductor JPY (¥)	Mar. 29, 2013 Notes Payable NeoPhotonics Semiconductor Notes Payable To be paid in three equal installments JPY (¥)	May 31, 2014 China USD ($)	May 31, 2014 China CNY	Jun. 30, 2014 China USD ($) CreditFacility	Jun. 30, 2014 China CNY CreditFacility	Jun. 30, 2014 China First Credit Facility	Jun. 30, 2014 China Second Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Bank Acceptances Executed																			$ 8,100,000	50,000,000
Restricted cash and investments	12,386,000	2,138,000											5,386,000	2,138,000					2,400,000	15,000,000
Number of short-term line of credit facilities																			1	1
Credit facility, expiration date																					Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Short-term line of credit facility																			26,000,000	160,000,000
Percentage of compensating balance requirement for bank acceptance drafts																			25.00%	25.00%
Short-term borrowing capacity			28,000,000					20,000,000											19,500,000	120,000,000
Line Of Credit Facility Amount Outstanding			21,000,000	24,500,000			0		0										12,000,000
Obligation bear interest												1.50%					7.00%	7.00%
Working capital Loan																	8,100,000	50,000,000
Frequency of periodic payment on loan																	monthly	monthly
Due date of the principal																	Nov. 23, 2014	Nov. 23, 2014
Notes payable																1,050,000,000
Notes payable outstanding													6,900,000		700,000,000
Interest rate description			Borrowings under the term loan bear interest at an interest rate option of a base rate as defined in the agreement plus 2.0% or LIBOR plus 3.0%. As of June 30, 2014 the rate on the LIBOR option was 3.15%.							borrowings bear interest at an interest rate option of a base rate as defined in the agreement plus 1.75% or LIBOR plus 2.75%. As of June 30, 2014 the rate on the LIBOR option was 2.90%.
Line of credit facility, marginal interest rate					3.00%	2.00%				2.75%	1.75%
Line of credit facility, interest rate					3.15%					2.90%
Line of credit facility, expiration date			2017-06				2016-03
Debt Instrument, Covenant Compliance	The Company’s credit agreement requires the maintenance of specified financial covenants, including a debt to EBITDA ratio and liquidity ratios. The agreement also restricts the Company’s ability to incur certain additional debt or to engage in specified transactions, restricts the payment of dividends and is secured by substantially all of its U.S. assets, other than intellectual property assets.
Compensating Balance, Amount	$ 21,000,000