We present the theory and experimental results behind using a 3D holographic signal for secure communications. A hologram of a complex 3D object is recorded to be used as a hard key for data encryption and decryption. The hologram is cut in half to be used at each end of the system. One piece is used for data encryption, while the other is used for data decryption. The first piece of hologram is modulated with the data to be encrypted. The hologram has an extremely complex phase distribution which encodes the data signal incident on the first piece of hologram. In order to extract the data from the modulated holographic carrier, the signal must be passed through the second hologram, removing the complex phase contributions of the first hologram. The signal beam from the first piece of hologram is used to illuminate the second piece of the same hologram, creating a self-reconstructing system. The 3D hologram’s interference pattern is highly specific to the 3D object and conditions during the holographic writing process. With a sufficiently complex 3D object used to generate the holographic hard key, the data will be nearly impossible to recover without using the second piece of the same hologram. This method of producing a self-reconstructing hologram ensures that the pieces in use are from the same original hologram, providing a system hard key, making it an extremely difficult system to counterfeit.

Date Published: 10 May 2017
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 10219, Three-Dimensional Imaging, Visualization, and Display 2017, 1021917 (10 May 2017); doi: 10.1117/12.2262467

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10219:
Three-Dimensional Imaging, Visualization, and Display 2017
Bahram Javidi; Jung-Young Son; Osamu Matoba, Editor(s)