title: Excitation mapping of whispering gallery modes in silica microcavities.
abstract: We report the direct observation of the electromagnetic-field distribution of whispering gallery modes in silica microcavities (spheres and toroids). It is revealed by their excitation efficiency with a tapered fiber coupler swept along the meridian. The originality of this method lies in the use of the coupler itself for the near-field mapping, eliminating the need of additional tools used in previous work. This method is successfully applied to microspheres and microtoroids.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, ENS, UPMC-Paris 6, CNRS, 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orucević
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Candela
authors.forename: J-B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jager
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lefèvre-Seguin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hare