Method for improving the time resolution of a TOF system

In order to study the possibility of improving the timing performance of the time of flight (TOF) systems, which are made of plastic scintillator counters, and read out by photomultiplier tubes (PMT) with mesh dynodes and conventional electronics, we have conducted a study using faster PMTs and ultra fast waveform digitizers to read out the plastic scintillators. Different waveform analysis methods are used to calculate the time resolution of such a system. Results are compared with the conventional discriminating method based on a threshold and pulse height. Our tests and analysis show that significant timing performance improvements can be achieved by using this new system.