Current-induced enhancement of magnetic anisotropy in spin-charge-coupled multiferroic YbFeO

Yoshii, Kenji  ; Matsumura, Daiju   ; Saito, Hiroyuki; Kambe, Takashi*; Fukunaga, Mamoru*; Muraoka, Yuji*; Ikeda, Naoshi*; Mori, Shigeo*

We report the change of magnetic properties of multiferroic YbFeO, caused by cooling in the presence of an electrical current. The magnetization measured after the cooling becomes smaller by about 10-20% than that after cooling without a current. The current also affects the magnetic anisotropy below about 100 K; the magnetic coercivity is increased by about 10-20%. These phenomena may arise from a coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic domains, or a disturbance in the formation of charge-ordered domains. From the applied viewpoint, the enhancement of anisotropy by an electrical current offers a method for stabilizing magnetization other than the well-known method, i.e., exchange bias.