  Nanoscale slot waveguides of hyperbolic metamaterials are proposed and
demonstrated for achieving large optical field enhancement. The dependence of
the enhanced electric field within the air slot on waveguide mode coupling and
permittivity tensors of hyperbolic metamaterials is analyzed both numerically
and analytically. Optical intensity in the metamaterial slot waveguide can be
more than 25 times stronger than that in a conventional silicon slot waveguide,
due to tight optical mode confinement enabled by the ultrahigh refractive
indices supported in hyperbolic metamaterials. The electric field enhancement
effects are also verified with the realistic metal-dielectric multilayer
waveguide structure.
