Decoy-state reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution with the single-photon-added coherent source

Reference-frame-independent quantum key distribution (RFI-QKD) can generate secure keys even when the reference frames drift slowly. Here, we propose to realize RFI-QKD with the single-photon-added coherent source (SPACS). Simulation results show that compared with the weak coherent state and the heralded single-photon source, SPACS can remarkably improve the key generation rate and transmission distance of RFI-QKD. Moreover, our results show the significance of optimized parameters. When taking statistical fluctuations into consideration, RFI-QKD with SPACS can still achieve very good performance.