Silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers have been grown in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system designed and fabricated in our laboratory. Silicon tetrachloride-propane as well as silane-propane were used as precursor gases. The hot zone was designed based on simulation by using numerical modeling. Growth rates up to 200 mu m could be achieved. A new growth-assisted hydrogen etching was developed to show the distribution of the micropipes present in the substrate. Higher growth rate was observed on off-axis (0 0 0 1) 4 H SiC compared to the on-axis (0 0 0 1) wafer and growth mechanism was explained. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.