Defect‐Induced Anomalous Transverse Resistivity in an Itinerant Ferromagnetic Oxide

Phenomena giving rise to voltages transverse to electric currents, such as anomalous and topological Hall effects, have been at the heart of modern condensed matter physics. Here, we show that epitaxial thin films of the itinerant ferromagnetic oxide SrRuO3 exhibit anomalous transverse resistivity associated with magnetization reversal, which is reminiscent of the emergence of the topological Hall effect. The behavior of the anomalous transverse resistivity of SrRuO3 films is found to depend on Ru vacancies. The anomalous peaking behavior in the transverse resistivity is enhanced when the film is thin enough that Ru vacancies significantly influence the magneto‐transport properties. Furthermore, films with fewer Ru vacancies exhibit no anomaly in transverse resistivity. Our observations imply that the Ru vacancies significantly influence the transverse resistivity in SrRuO3 and that defect‐induced changes in electronic structure are a plausible origin for the emergence of the anomalous peaking behavior in the transverse resistivity.