A High-Capacity Quantum Image Steganography Scheme Based on a Double-Layer Tortoise Shell Matrix

A High-Capacity Quantum Image Steganography Scheme Based on a Double-Layer Tortoise Shell Matrix | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A High-Capacity Quantum Image Steganography Scheme Based on a Double-Layer Tortoise Shell Matrix Jia-Hao Huang, Hong-Mei Yang, Bin Yan, Dong-Huan Jiang, Hao-Ming Dang, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8787950/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In recent years, quantum image steganography has attracted considerable attention; however, achieving high embedding capacity while preserving imperceptibility and security remains challenging. To address this issue, a quantum color image steganography scheme based on a double-layer turtle shell matrix is proposed.The scheme transforms RGB into the YCbCr color space to separate luminance and chrominance components according to the human visual system (HVS), and embeds secret information mainly into chrominance channels in combination with a check-digit mechanism to reduce visual distortion and enhance security. Meanwhile, the double-layer turtle shell matrix allows each coordinate to store more secret information. By jointly combining the YCbCr-based perceptual embedding strategy with the double-layer turtle shell matrix, the proposed scheme achieves 5 bpp embedding capacity while maintaining a PSNR above 50 dB.Moreover, the Grover search algorithm is incorporated to exploit quantum parallelism, significantly reducing the time complexity of searching embedding coordinates. A corresponding quantum circuit diagram is provided as a fundamental component for realizing the embedding and extraction processes. Experimental comparisons demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms existing methods in imperceptibility and embedding capacity, with a particularly notable improvement in payload. Quantum image steganography Double-layer turtle shell YCbCr color space Grover search algorithm Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8787950","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":613997587,"identity":"f1df0430-6faa-4614-bb47-45a3ae117981","order_by":0,"name":"Jia-Hao Huang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jia-Hao","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":613997588,"identity":"3dee5e4a-8a75-4b67-8c31-3dd978019a06","order_by":1,"name":"Hong-Mei Yang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZgjF2PiAgQ3ClCBWS7MBSAsPCVoY2CSI0mJw/Ozh1wUVd+zWtje3Vf4oO2xvz8B88DYPg10eTi1n8tKsZ5x5lrztzMG22zznDif2MLAlW/MwJBfj1HIgx8yYt+1wstmNxLbbjG2HE3gYeMykeRgOJDbg0nL+DVTL/YdthT/bDtvzMPB/w6/lRo7xY6AWO7MbjG0MQAZjDwMPG14tkjfemDHznDmcYHYmsVma51x6Ys9hNmPLOQbJOLXwnc8x/sxTcdje7Pjxhx9/lFnbs7c3P7zxpsIOpxaFA6DoYGBAUgCOJgMc6oFAvoGB+QOQtsetZBSMglEwCkY8AAC3ZlpGcIalfQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hong-Mei","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":613997589,"identity":"a887b25d-0214-4610-9fe2-38d6d8b1325a","order_by":2,"name":"Bin Yan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bin","middleName":"","lastName":"Yan","suffix":""},{"id":613997590,"identity":"791d6753-dae0-4e30-b796-d5fe1e591e25","order_by":3,"name":"Dong-Huan Jiang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dong-Huan","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""},{"id":613997591,"identity":"bd627425-f8f6-4ae6-9797-c5b40998d163","order_by":4,"name":"Hao-Ming Dang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hao-Ming","middleName":"","lastName":"Dang","suffix":""},{"id":613997592,"identity":"659b7972-3225-49f0-b918-3638bc0d461d","order_by":5,"name":"Xuan Lu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shandong University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Lu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-04 14:54:49","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8787950/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8787950/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109296499,"identity":"1c30dc53-bf28-4c5c-8821-e7a8324058da","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-15 08:47:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2321583,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"doubleturtleshell.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8787950/v1_covered_24809875-6257-4108-817a-75e5ee4009d9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A High-Capacity Quantum Image Steganography Scheme Based on a Double-Layer Tortoise Shell Matrix","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Quantum image steganography, Double-layer turtle shell,YCbCr color space, Grover search algorithm","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8787950/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8787950/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"In recent years, quantum image steganography has attracted considerable attention; 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