  A small depression is created in a straight optical fiber taper to form a
local probe suitable for studying closely spaced, planar microphotonic devices.
The tension of the "dimpled" taper controls the probe-sample interaction length
and the level of noise present during coupling measurements. Practical
demonstrations with high-Q silicon microcavities include testing a dense array
of undercut microdisks (maximum Q = 3.3x10^6) and a planar microring (Q =
4.8x10^6).
