Experimental optical encryption with full complex modulation.

We present, to our knowledge, a novel method to achieve experimental encryption using double random phase encoding with full complex modulation and a single phase-only spatial light modulator. Our approach uses double phase encoding to generate phase-only holograms containing complex-valued input planes for a joint transform correlator (JTC) cryptosystem. This approach enables users to independently manipulate both the phase and amplitude of the cryptographic keys and objects, thereby significantly enhancing the versatility of the optical cryptosystem. We validate the capabilities of our proposed scheme by generating optimized random phase masks and using them to experimentally encrypt various grayscale and binary objects. The experimental complex modulation obtained with the system detailed in this work, in conjunction with optimized random phase masks, results in an enhancement in the quality of the decrypted objects during reconstruction. Both numerical simulations and experimental findings corroborate the effectiveness of our proposal.