We have designed and built a new metal organic vapor phase epitaxy reactor for single wafer, low pressure operation employing a very large width-to-height aspect ratio to meet the demands on uniformity over a large area. The uniformity obtained under various growth conditions have been mapped using high resolution analytical techniques capable of sufficient accuracy in the determination of the significant material parameters. Doping uniformities are used to accurately evaluate temperature gradients across the susceptor. The results compare favorably with expectations, thereby confirming the design rules presented in the paper. Thickness uniformities of better than + 1% over full 50 mm diam are obtained and compositional deviations are within -+ 0.3 atomic percent over 40 mm diameter for all components in the A1GaAs as well as in the InGaAsP system. Over the same area the wavelength uniformity of quaternary InGaAsP is better than -+ 1 nm at )~ = 1.56 ~m. These numbers represent some of the best uniformity data ever reported.