Novel optical image encryption scheme based on fractional Mellin transform

A novel nonlinear image encryption scheme is proposed by introducing the fractional Mellin transform (FrMT) into the field of image security. As a nonlinear transform, FrMT is employed to get rid of the potential insecurity of the optical image encryption system caused by the intrinsic object–image relationship between the plaintext and the ciphertext. Different annular domains of the original image are transformed by FrMTs of different orders, and then the outputs are further encrypted by comprehensively using fractional Fourier transform (FrFT), amplitude encoding and phase encoding. The keys of the encryption algorithm include the orders of the FrMTs, the radii of the FrMT domains, the order of the FrFT and the phases generated in the further encryption process, thus the key space is extremely large. An optoelectronic hybrid structure for the proposed scheme is also introduced. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust with noise immunity, sensitive to the keys, and outperforms the conventional linear encryption methods to counteract some attacks.

Research Highlights► FrMT is employed as a new tool to encrypt the image. ► The original image is processed in an annular way. ► The encryption system can resist some common attacks due to the nonlinear FrMT. ► FrMT, FrFT, amplitude encoding and phase encoding are flexibly used. ► An optoelectronic hybrid setup for the encryption scheme is presented.