Phase-matched excitation of whispering-gallery-mode resonances by a fiber taper

We show that high-Q whispering-gallery modes in fused-silica microspheres can be efficiently excited by an optical fiber taper. By adjusting the taper diameter to match the ropagation constant of the mode in the taper with that of the resonant mode of interest, one can couple more than 90% of the light into the sphere. This represents a significant improvement in excitation efficiency compared with other methods and is, we believe, the most efficient excitation of a high- Q microcavity resonance by a monomode optical fiber yet demonstrated.