Methods and devices for calibrating the mobility axis of an ion mobility spectrum

The present invention relates to methods and devices for calibrating the mobility axis of an ion mobility spectrum and for determining the mobility characteristic of ion species from an ion mobility spectrum, in particular for calibrating the drift time axis of an ion mobility spectrum acquired by a drift type ion mobility spectrometer (IMS). It provides an ion mobility spectrometer characterized in that an ion source comprises a first ionization region (11a) which is fluidly coupled to a sample source, a second ionization region (11b) which is spatially separated from the first ionization region and fluidly coupled to a calibrant reservoir (30), and electrical means for controlling the transfer of sample ions from the first region into the second ionization region or into a third region of the ion source wherein the third region is fluidly coupled to the first and second ionization region and located closer to a mobility analyzer than the first and second ionization region.