Homoepitaxial chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on high pressure high temperature (HPHT) synthetic diamond substrates allows production of diamond material with controlled point defect content. In order to minimize the extended defect content, however, it is necessary to minimize the number of substrate extended defects that reach the initial growth surface and the nucleation of dislocations at the interface between the CVD layer and its substrate. X-ray topography has indicated that when type IIa HPHT synthetic substrates are used the density of dislocations nucleating at the interface can be less than 400 cm-2. X-ray topography, photoluminescence imaging and birefringence microscopy of HPHT grown synthetic type IIa diamond clearly show that the extended defect content is growth sector dependent. <111> sectors contain the highest concentration of both stacking faults and dislocations but <100> sectors are relatively free of both. It has been shown that HPHT treatment of such material can significantly reduce the area of stacking faults and cause dislocations to move. This knowledge, coupled with an understanding of how growth sectors develop during HPHT synthesis, has been used to guide selection and processing of substrates suitable for CVD synthesis of material with high crystalline perfection and controlled point defect content.