Using a nanoscale silica fiber taper,light can be efficiently coupled into a single ZnO nanowire by means of evanescent coupling. The method is valid for launching light into a single nanowire in the ultraviolet to infrared range with a coupling efficiency of 25%, Low-loss optical guiding of ZnO nanowires is demonstrated, and the photoluminescence of a single ZnO nanowire is also observed. Compared to conventional approaches in which a lensfocused laser beam is used to excite nanowires at specific wavelengths,this evanescent coupling approach has advantages such as high coupling efficiency and broad-band validity, and it is promising for the optical characterization of semiconductor nanowires or nanoribbons.
