Simplified optical image encryption approach using single diffraction pattern in diffractive-imaging-based scheme

In previous diffractive-imaging-based optical encryption schemes, it is impossible to totally retrieve the plaintext from a single diffraction pattern. In this paper, we proposed a new method to achieve this goal. The encryption procedure can be completed by proceeding only one exposure, and the single diffraction pattern is recorded as ciphertext. For recovering the plaintext, a novel median-filtering-based phase retrieval algorithm, including two iterative cycles, has been developed. This proposal not only extremely simplifies the encryption and decryption processes, but also facilitates the storage and transmission of the ciphertext, and its effectiveness and feasibility have been demonstrated by numerical simulations. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America