  We present a novel application of optical tunneling in the context of
high-angular resolution, high-contrast techniques with the aim of improving
direct imaging capabilities of faint companions in the vicinity of bright
stars. In contrast to existing techniques like coronagraphy, we apply
well-established techniques from integrated optics to exclusively extinct a
very narrow angular direction coming from the sky. This extinction is achieved
in the pupil plane and does not suffer from diffraction pattern residuals. We
give a comprehensive presentation of the underlying theory as well as first
laboratory results.
