We propose a new optical encoding method of images for security applications. The encoded image is obtained by random-phase encoding in both the input and the Fourier planes. We analyze the statistical properties of this technique and show that the encoding converts the input signal to stationary white noise and that the reconstruction method is robust.

We propose a three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique that can sense a 3D scene and computationally reconstruct it as a 3D volumetric image. Sensing of the 3D scene is carried out by obtaining elemental images optically using a pickup microlens array and a detector array. Reconstruction of volume pixels of the scene is accomplished by computationally simulating optical reconstruction according to ray optics. The entire pixels of the recorded elemental images contribute to volumetric reconstruction of the 3D scene. Image display planes at arbitrary distances from the display microlens array are computed and reconstructed by back propagating the elemental images through a computer synthesized pinhole array based on ray optics. We present experimental results of 3D image sensing and volume pixel reconstruction to test and verify the performance of the algorithm and the imaging system. The volume pixel values can be used for 3D image surface reconstruction.

Photon-counting imaging is integrated with optical encryption for information authentication. An image is doublerandom-phase encrypted, and a photon-limited encrypted image is obtained. The photon-counting encrypted image is generated with few photons and appears sparse; however, we show that it has sufficient information for decryption and authentication. The decrypted image cannot be easily visualized so that an additional layer of information protection is achieved. The authentication is carried out by recognition algorithms. This approach may make the verification process more robust against attacks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on integrating photon-counting imaging and encryption for authentication.

Three-dimensional (3D) sensing and imaging technologies have been extensively researched for many applications in the fields of entertainment, medicine, robotics, manufacturing, industrial inspection, security, surveillance, and defense due to their diverse and significant benefits. Integral imaging is a passive multiperspective imaging technique, which records multiple two-dimensional images of a scene from different perspectives. Unlike holography, it can capture a scene such as outdoor events with incoherent or ambient light. Integral imaging can display a true 3D color image with full parallax and continuous viewing angles by incoherent light; thus it does not suffer from speckle degradation. Because of its unique properties, integral imaging has been revived over the past decade or so as a promising approach for massive 3D commercialization. A series of key articles on this topic have appeared in the OSA journals, including Applied Optics. Thus, it is fitting that this Commemorative Review presents an overview of literature on physical principles and applications of integral imaging. Several data capture configurations, reconstruction, and display methods are overviewed. In addition, applications including 3D underwater imaging, 3D imaging in photon-starved environments, 3D tracking of occluded objects, 3D optical microscopy, and 3D polarimetric imaging are reviewed.

Several attacks are proposed against the double random phase encryption scheme. These attacks are demonstrated on computer-generated ciphered images. The scheme is shown to be resistant against brute force attacks but susceptible to chosen and known plaintext attacks. In particular, we describe a technique to recover the exact keys with only two known plain images. We compare this technique to other attacks proposed in the literature.