Secret sharing is a promising technology for information encryption by splitting the secret information into different shares. However, the traditional scheme suffers from information leakage in decryption process since the amount of available information channels is limited. Herein, we propose and demonstrate an optical secret sharing framework based on the multi-dimensional multiplexing liquid crystal (LC) holograms. The LC holograms are used as spatially separated shares to carry secret images. The polarization of the incident light and the distance between different shares are served as secret keys, which can significantly improve the information security and capacity. Besides, the decryption condition is also restricted by the applied external voltage due to the variant diffraction efficiency, which further increases the information security. In implementation, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed to carefully design the phase distribution of each LC hologram. With the advantage of high security, high capacity and simple configuration, our optical secret sharing framework has great potentials in optical encryption and dynamic holographic display.

As an optical processor, a diffractive deep neural network (D²NN) utilizes engineered diffractive surfaces designed through machine learning to perform all-optical information processing, completing its tasks at the speed of light propagation through thin optical layers. With sufficient degrees of freedom, D²NNs can perform arbitrary complex-valued linear transformations using spatially coherent light. Similarly, D²NNs can also perform arbitrary linear intensity transformations with spatially incoherent illumination; however, under spatially incoherent light, these transformations are nonnegative, acting on diffraction-limited optical intensity patterns at the input field of view. Here, we expand the use of spatially incoherent D²NNs to complex-valued information processing for executing arbitrary complex-valued linear transformations using spatially incoherent light. Through simulations, we show that as the number of optimized diffractive features increases beyond a threshold dictated by the multiplication of the input and output space-bandwidth products, a spatially incoherent diffractive visual processor can approximate any complex-valued linear transformation and be used for all-optical image encryption using incoherent illumination. The findings are important for the all-optical processing of information under natural light using various forms of diffractive surface-based optical processors.

The use of orbital angular momentum (OAM) as an independent dimension for information encryption has garnered considerable attention. However, the multiplexing capacity of OAM is limited, and there is a need for additional dimensions to enhance storage capabilities. We propose and implement orbital angular momentum lattice (OAML) multiplexed holography. The vortex lattice (VL) beam comprises three adjustable parameters: the rotation angle of the VL, the angle between the wave normal and the z axis, which determines the VL’s dimensions, and the topological charge. Both the rotation angle and the VL’s dimensions serve as supplementary encrypted dimensions, contributing azimuthally and radially, respectively. We investigate the mode selectivity of OAML and focus on the aforementioned parameters. Through experimental validation, we demonstrate the practical feasibility of OAML multiplexed holography across multiple dimensions. This groundbreaking development reveals new possibilities for the advancement of practical information encryption systems.

Cascaded holography coupled with the secret-sharing scheme has recently gained considerable attention due to its enhanced information processing and encryption capabilities. Here, we propose a new holographic iterative algorithm and present the implementation of cascaded liquid crystal (LC) holography for optical encryption. Each LC layer acts as the secret key and can generate a distinct holographic image. By cascading two LC elements, a new holographic image is formed. Additionally, we showcase the dynamic optical encryption achieved by electrically switching LCs with combined electric keys. This work may offer promising applications in optical cryptography, all-optical computing, and data storage.

In light of the powerful light manipulation ability of holographic metasurfaces, optical imaging with wavelength multiplexing and polarization multiplexing is performed in this paper. The metasurface is composed of identical rectangular nanoholes etched in silver film. Three imaging effects, including the in-plane color imaging, three-dimensional wavelength-encrypted imaging, and polarization-multiplexing wavelength-encrypted imaging, are realized. The designed metasurface has compact structure, and the obtained image has lower noise. The simulation and experiment results give the verification. Multiple images, including spatial multiplexing, wavelength multiplexing, and polarization multiplexing, exhibit immense potentialities of metasurfaces, and this work is helpful for expanding the applications of metasurfaces.