Search for phi Mesons in tau Lepton Decay

We report results from a direct search for {tau}{sup -} {yields} {phi}h{sup -} {nu}{sub {tau}} (h{sup -} = {pi}{sup -} or K{sup -}) using 3.1 fb{sup -1} of data collected with the CLEO II detector. We find model-dependent upper limits on the branching fractions in the range: {Beta}({tau}{sup -} {yields} {phi}{pi}{sup -}{nu}{sub {tau}}) < (1.2 - 2.0) x 10{sup -4} and {Beta}({tau}{sup -} {yields} {phi}K{sup -} {nu}{sub {tau}}) < (5.4 - 6.7) x 10{sup -5} at 90% confidence level.