Large anisotropy in the paramagnetic susceptibility of SrRuO3 films

By using the extraordinary Hall effect in SrRuO3 films we performed sensitive measurements of the paramagnetic susceptibility in this itinerant ferromagnet, from Tc (~ 150 K) to 300 K. These measurements, combined with measurements of magnetoresistance, reveal that the susceptibility, which is almost isotropic at 300 K, becomes highly anisotropic as the temperature is lowered, diverging along a single crystallographic direction in the vicinity of Tc. The results provide a striking manifestation of the effect of exceptionally large magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the paramagnetic state of a 4d itinerant ferromagnet.