A susceptor for the epitaxial growth of silicon carbide, with an up-lifted substrate holder, is investigated and compared to other susceptor designs both experimentally and by the use of computational fluid dynamics simulations. It is shown that the wafer bending due to temperature gradients is diminished in a hot-wall reactor compared to growth in a cold-wall reactor. The substrate backside growth is diminished using the up-lifted substrate holder, limiting the substrate bending due to the backside growth. Thereby the stress built into the epitaxial layers during growth is significantly reduced. Simulations indicate a lower effective C/Si ratio over the wafer, and a lower preferable growth temperature, as compared to the original susceptor design. In addition a slightly higher growth rate is achieved. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All tights reserved.