Large-scale scattering-augmented optical encryption

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Information Security
• Cryptography

Background:

• Digital data growth demands advanced encryption methods for privacy.
• Optical encryption offers parallel processing and security but faces hardware and noise limitations.
• Existing methods often rely on simulated randomness, limiting real-world application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable and secure optical encryption platform.
• To overcome hardware constraints and improve throughput in optical encryption.
• To enhance the randomness and resilience of optical encryption techniques.

Main Methods:

• Utilized scattering multiplexing ptychography for encryption.
• Employed light scattering as a natural unclonable function for multi-dimensional encoding.
• Implemented a hybrid decryption algorithm combining model- and data-driven approaches.
• Achieved spatial multiplexing via different scatterer regions to increase throughput.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated optical encryption at ten-megapixel scale with 1.23 µm resolution.
• Validated encryption resilience through communication experiments with up to 20% bit error rate.
• Achieved high-fidelity decryption under extreme transmission conditions.

Conclusions:

• The developed platform offers a holistic solution for large-scale, high-security, and cost-effective optical cryptography.
• Scattering multiplexing ptychography enhances security and throughput beyond conventional methods.
• The hybrid decryption algorithm ensures robust performance against noise and interference.