Lensless multiple-image optical encryption based on improved phase retrieval algorithm

A novel architecture of the optical multiple-image encryption based on the modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm (MGSA) by using cascading phase only functions (POFs) in the Fresnel transform (FrT) domain is presented. This proposed method can greatly increase the capacity of the system by avoiding the crosstalk, completely, between the encrypted target images. Each present stage encrypted target image is encoded as to a complex function by using the MGSA with constraining the encrypted target image of the previous stage. Not only the wavelength and position parameters in the FrT domain can be keys to increase system security, the created POFs are also served mutually as the encryption keys to decrypt target image from present stage into next stage in the cascaded scheme. Compared with a prior method [Appl. Opt. 48, 2686-2692 (2009)], the main advantages of this proposed encryption system is that it does not need any transformative lenses and this makes it very efficient and easy to implement optically. Simulation results show that this proposed encryption system can successfully achieve the multiple-image encryption via fewer POFs, which is more advantageous in simpler implementation and efficiency than a prior method where each decryption stage requires two POFs to accomplish this task. (c) 2012 Optical Society of America