Suppression and Re-emergence of Anisotropic Transport Across the Magnetic Ordering in SrRuO₃

SrRuO₃ is a itinerant ferromagnet and a model system to explore spin–orbit coupled transport and topological responses in correlated oxides. We investigate epitaxial SrRuO₃ thin films grown on (110)-oriented substrates, where crystallographic anisotropy enables symmetry-resolved transport along orthogonal in-plane axes. Two key observations emerge. Above the Curie temperature (Tc​ ≈ 165 K), resistance is strongly anisotropic, reflecting direction-dependent spin-fluctuation scattering. Strikingly, this anisotropy collapses below Tc​, despite underlying structural inequivalence, due to isotropic electron–magnon and electron–electron scattering. Applying a magnetic field uncovers a pronounced directional contrast in magnetoresistance (MR): along [001], MR remains negative and saturates, while along [1-10] it reverses sign and becomes positive below T⁰ ≈ 145 K. Meanwhile, the quadratic MR contribution is identical for both directions and peaks near T^*_OHE ≈ 155 K, coinciding with a zero crossing of the ordinary Hall coefficient, indicative of carrier compensation. A simultaneous sign reversal of the anomalous Hall effect at T^*_AHE​ ≈ 150 K confirms a Berry curvature inversion. These findings highlight ferromagnetic ordering as the driving force for directional topological transport in SrRuO₃.