Optical hiding based on single-input multiple-output and binary amplitude-only holograms via the modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm

Abstract

Optics has provided a promising means for the development of information hiding in recent years. However, conventional optical information hiding systems can only hide a limited number of images, and optical implementation complexity is usually high in conventional methods. In this paper, we propose a new scheme to implement optical information hiding based on single-input multiple-output (SIMO) and binary amplitude-only holograms (AOHs) using the modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm (MGSA). Different from conventional optical hiding methods with the limited multiplexing capacity, the proposed scheme can retrieve a large number of different secret images from one single host image during optical retrieval. In addition, it is also illustrated that optical implementation complexity is reduced in the proposed method. Simulations and optical experiments are conducted to verify feasibility, security and robustness of the proposed method. It is expected that the proposed method could open up a different research perspective for optical multiple-image hiding.