Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
Jul. 03, 2011	Jul. 29, 2011
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	Mattson Technology Inc
Entity Central Index Key	0000928421
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jul. 03, 2011
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Is Entity a Well-known Seasoned Issuer?	No
Is Entity a Voluntary Filer?	No
Is Entity's Reporting Status Current?	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		58,222,802
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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