Image quality and security through nonlinear joint transform encryption

Joint-transform correlator (JTC) architecture presents some advantages, such as no requirement of interferometric recording of the phase distribution or complex conjugation of the key phase mask, in order to optically implement the well-known double random phase encryption (DRPE) method. In addition, a practical optical realization was proposed in a way that the whole information (primary image and two random phase masks) was easily introduced in the same input plane of the JTC system. However, poor image quality was obtained in the decryption stage. Cryptanalysis of JTC-based encryption systems demonstrated that they were vulnerable to certain intruder attacks, similarly to the original DRPE method. In this work, we review recent modifications of encryption algorithms based on JTC architecture that permit, on the one hand, to significantly increase the quality of the retrieved image after information decryption, and on the other hand, to achieve a high security level against a variety of system attacks. The modifications, which were firstly introduced in the Fourier-based JTC system, have been also adapted to be used in the Fresnel and Fractional Fourier domains as well as in the Gyrator domain. Nonlinear operations have been also introduced in multifactor encryption-authentication.