Optical pattern recognition for validation and security verification

We propose an idea for security verification of credit cards, passports, and other ID so that they cannot easily be reproduced. A new scheme of complex phase/amplitude patterns that cannot be seen and cannot be copied by an intensity sensitive detector such as a CCD camera is used. The basic idea is to permanently and irretrievably bond a phase mask to a primary identification amplitude pattern such as a fingerprint, a picture of a face, or a signature. Computer simulation results and tests of the proposed system will be provided to verify that both the phase mask and the primary pattern are separately readable and identifiable in an optical processor or correlator.