Encrypted optical storage with angular multiplexing

We present the first, to our knowledge, demonstration of an encrypted optical storage based on double-random phase encoding by using angular multiplexing in a photorefractive material. Original two-dimensional data are encrypted by use of two random phase codes located in the input and the Fourier planes and are then stored holographically in a LiNbO3:Fe crystal. The retrieval of the original data can be achieved with a phase-conjugated readout scheme. We demonstrate the encryption and the decryption of multiple frames of two-dimensional digital data by using angular multiplexing. We also evaluate numerically the influence of the bandwidth of the optical system on the decrypted digital data. The bit error rate as a function of the optical system bandwidth is presented. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.