Integrated in-fiber coupler for microsphere whispering-gallery modes resonator excitation

We present an integrated in-fiber coupler for excitation of whispering-gallery modes of a microsphere resonator. The coupler is simply fabricated by chemical etching away the holey area of a photonic crystal fiber, leaving a freestanding solid core enclosed in a silica housing. Light is coupled into a microsphere through the suspended core with a diameter of 2.1 μm. Since the coupler itself performs as a Fabry-Perot interferometer, asymmetric Fano resonances can be observed in the mixed reflection spectrum. The silica housing of the coupler provides a robust mechanical support to the microsphere resonator. The new Fano resonance coupler shows great potential in biochemical sensing and optical switching applications.