High-energy electron beams produced by a Laser Wakefield accelerator

Summary form only given. A Laser-Wakefiled acceleration (LWFA) experiment, aiming the production of high-quality electron relativistic beams, was performed at Astra-Gemini Laser Facility. The interaction was used sub-50 fs laser pulses with energies in the range 4 - 10 J and structured gas cells with lengths of 2 - 4 cm filled with hydrogen as target. Reliable and reproducible electron beams with energies close to 1 GeV were produced in a single stage. The use of plasma channels to enhance the acceleration process was also tested resulting in a significant energy gain signature.