  A phase-field formulation is introduced to simulate quantitatively
microstructural pattern formation in alloys. The thin-interface limit of this
formulation yields a much less stringent restriction on the choice of interface
thickness than previous formulations and permits to eliminate non-equilibrium
effects at the interface. Dendrite growth simulations with vanishing solid
diffusivity show that both the interface evolution and the solute profile in
the solid are well resolved.
