Advanced diagnostics applied to a laser-driven electron-acceleration experiment

In this paper, the interaction of 10-TW laser pulses, focused at moderately relativistic intensity, with a supersonic helium gas-jet has been investigated by varying gas density and jet nozzle. We have successfully tested several advanced diagnostic devices to characterize the plasma and the accelerated electron bunches. Plasma densities have been measured by means of a femtosecond high-resolution interferometer, while the electron beams were analyzed with a stack of radiochromic films, a beam-profile monitor, a magnetic spectrometer, and a nuclear activation setup based on gamma-ray generation via electron bremsstrahlung. We present the results as well as the basic features and relevant details of such diagnostics whose performances can fit a large class of experiments.