Abstract
We review effects of an external electric field on the magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) in transition-metal monolayers and surfaces, and at metal-insulator interfaces, as obtained from the first-principles full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave method. The results indicate that the MCA can be modified by the electric field through a change in band structure around Fermi level, which originates from the redistribution of charge/spin density and/or atomic displacements at surfaces and interfaces. These findings greatly advance our understanding of the electric-field-induced MCA modifications in itinerant ferromagnets.
