Raman Gates in Trapped ¹³³Ba⁺

We present advances in the operation of the synthetic ¹³³Ba⁺ trapped ion qubit, which was recently used to demonstrate record-breaking qubit state preparation and measurement (SPAM) fidelity. We will present new capabilities for manipulations of the ₂S^1/2 ground state qubit using raman gates with a far detuned laser. We will also show operations in the metastable ₂D^5/2 hyperfine states, as well as our progress towards single and two qubit gates within the ₂D^5/2 hyperfine states.