Simultaneous nonlinear encryption of grayscale and color images based on phase-truncated fractional Fourier transform and optical superposition principle

A nonlinear color and grayscale images cryptosystem based on phase-truncated fractional Fourier transform and optical superposition principle is proposed. In order to realize simultaneous encryption of color and grayscale images, each grayscale image is first converted into two phase masks by using an optical coherent superposition, one of which is treated as a part of input information that will be fractional Fourier transformed while the other in the form of a chaotic random phase mask (CRPM) is used as a decryption key. For the purpose of optical performance, all the processes are performed through three channels, i.e., red, green, and blue. Different from most asymmetric encryption methods, the decryption process is designed to be linear for the sake of effective decryption. The encryption level of a double random phase encryption based on phase-truncated Fourier transform is enhanced by extending it into fractional Fourier domain and the load of the keys management and transmission is lightened by using CRPMs. The security of the proposed cryptosystem is discussed and computer simulation results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed method. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America