  Magnetoelectrics often possess ions located in noncentrosymmetric
surroundings. Based on this fact we suggest a microscopic model of
magnetoelectric interaction and show that the spin-orbit coupling leads to
spin-dependent electric dipole moments of the electron orbitals of these ions,
which results in non-vanishing polarization for certain spin configurations.
The approach accounts for the macroscopic symmetry of the unit cell and is
valid both for commensurate and complex incommensurate magnetic structures. The
model is illustrated by the examples of MnWO4, MnPS3 and LiNiPO4. Application
to other magnetoelectrics is discussed.
