A protocol to realize near-perfect atom-photon entanglement

Researchers unveiled a breakthrough protocol in February 2026 to achieve near-perfect entanglement between atoms and photons, a critical milestone for quantum networking and scalable quantum computing. The method addresses a longstanding challenge in quantum systems by optimizing atom-photon interaction fidelity, enabling more reliable quantum state transfers across nodes in distributed quantum networks. This advancement supports the development of modular quantum computers, where smaller processors are linked via entangled photons, significantly boosting computational power and error resilience. Experiments demonstrated entanglement success rates exceeding 99%, surpassing previous benchmarks and reducing decoherence—key for practical quantum communication and cryptography applications. The protocol’s efficiency could accelerate the deployment of quantum repeaters, essential for long-distance quantum networks and the eventual realization of a quantum internet.