Optical encryption with a reference wave in a joint transform correlator architecture

In this work we introduce a digital holographic configuration in a joint Transform Correlator (JTC) architecture for encryption purposes. Conceptually, it is a Mach-Zender interferometer, with a JTC in one arm and a reference wave in the other. We describe the practical implementation of this architecture, along with experimental results that support the proposal. We analyze the noise influence caused by intensity saturation during image capture, and this information allows us a filtering process to reduce the information to be handled, with a consequent increase in the speed of the total procedure. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.