Along with the newly emerging of functional materials such as organic semiconducting crystals and two-dimensional or layered crystals, traditional crystal growth methods for bulk crystals are no more applicable to them. And on the other hand, the invasive procedures like etching in the traditional top-down photolithography are harsh task for these new materials to survive while maintaining integrity to build miniaturized devices. Yang Liu, Xutang Tao, and their colleagues at State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University have invented a microspacing in-air sublimation (MAS) growth method for such new materials. By creating a gap of a few hundred micrometers between the reservoir of material and the substrate on which the crystals will deposit, it was able to mimic the conditions used in traditional vacuum-based processes, but without any special equipment. The MAS growth is practicable for a wide range of organic and inorganic crystals; besides, it possesses advantages in many aspects such as short growth time, high materials utilization ratio, and applicability for real time observation, etc. Electrical devices based on the micro-crystals grown on the substrate exhibited higher performances than the best record ever reported. The method has aroused much attention in the related fields; and currently it has been adopted by many research groups all around the world.