Interference-based optical image encryption using three-dimensional phase retrieval

In recent years, optical image encryption has attracted more and more attention in information security due to its unique advantages, such as parallel processing and multiple-parameter characteristics. In this paper, we propose a new method using three-dimensional (3D) processing strategy for interference-based optical image encryption. The plaintext is considered as a series of particles distributed in 3D space, and any one sectional extraction cannot render information about the plaintext during image decryption. In addition, the silhouette problem in the conventional interference-based optical encryption method is effectively suppressed, and the proposed optical cryptosystem can achieve higher security compared with the previous work. A numerical experiment is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.