Optical image-hiding method with false information disclosure based on the interference principle and partial-phase-truncation in the fractional Fourier domain

An image-hiding method based on the optical interference principle and partial-phase-truncation in the fractional Fourier domain is proposed. The primary image is converted into three phase-only masks (POMs) using an analytical algorithm involved partial-phase-truncation and a fast random pixel exchange process. A procedure of a fake silhouette for a decryption key is suggested to reinforce the encryption and give a hint of the position of the key. The fractional orders of FrFT effectively enhance the security of the system. In the decryption process, the POM with false information and the other two POMs are, respectively, placed in the input and fractional Fourier planes to recover the primary image. There are no unintended information disclosures and iterative computations involved in the proposed method. Simulation results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed approach.