The acceleration of electrons with high intensity laser pulses offers an efficient and cost effective alternative to classical particle accelerators. The mechanism of laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) is based on the laser-plasma interaction in underdense plasmas. The laser excites a plasma wave in which the electrons get accelerated, subsequently. Although still in a highly experimental state, recent research indicates a high potential for various applications in basic physics, material sciences, and medicine. Capillary-discharge plasma wave-guides have been applied to confine the laser beam over a higher distance and further increase the electron energy and quality. A new approach for creating a laser waveguide, based on a small scale z-pinch, was recently proposed in collaboration between the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Jena Friedrich Schiller University, Germany. Due to the simple setup without capillary walls, the gas-puff z-pinch provides major advantages over capillary discharges, such as a longer life time. Furthermore, the investigation of the plasma wave-guide using radial observations, which is not possible in the capillary-discharge setup, can provide valuable information about its axial symmetry and the acceleration process itself. An introduction to the mechanism of LWFA and an overview of recent experimental results will be given. Preliminary experimental results of the investigation of a gas-puff z-pinch plasma as a wave-guide for LWFA will be presented.
