  Here, we investigate the physical mechanisms that may enable squeezing a
complex electromagnetic field distribution through a narrow and/or partially
obstructed region with little amplitude and phase distortions. Following our
recent works, such field manipulations may be made possible by a procedure in
which the incoming wave is first "sampled" "pixel by pixel" using an array of
metallic waveguides, and in a second step the energy corresponding to each
individual pixel is "squeezed" through a very narrow channel filled with a
permittivity-near zero material. In this work, we study in detail these
processes in scenarios where the electromagnetic wave is compressed along a
single direction of space, and present theoretical models that enable the
analytical modeling of such phenomena. Full-wave results obtained with an
electromagnetic simulator, demonstrate the possibility of compressing an
incoming wave several folds through ultranarrow channels filled with silicon
carbide. The "sampling and squeezing" concept may enable unparalleled control
of electromagnetic waves in the nanoscale.
