The influence of power control on the multiplication of basal plane dislocations (BPDs) during PVT growth of 4H-SiC single crystals was studied by numerical modeling. Three sets of different power histories during growth were tested: continuously increasing power, continuously decreasing power, and constant power. The results show that optimization of the power history control is crucial for the reduction of basal plane dislocations during growth. If only low BPD density is concerned, then constant low power is the best choice. However, if both low BPD density and high growth rate are desirable, then concave continuously increasing power is the best choice. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.