Transport spin polarization in RuO$_2$ films

Abstract

Altermagnets host spin-split electronic bands without net magnetization, enabling spin-polarized transport in the absence of conventional ferromagnetism. RuO$_2$ has been proposed as a candidate altermagnet, yet experimental reports remain conflicting, particularly between bulk-sensitive probes and thin-film measurements. Here we investigate the electronic transport properties of epitaxial RuO$_2$ thin films using anomalous Hall effect measurements and point-contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy. We observe transport spin polarization and a strongly orientation-dependent anomalous Hall response, while magnetometry reveals no detectable net magnetization. The anomalous Hall effect appears only in ultrathin (110)-oriented films, consistent with symmetry-driven N\'eel-vector physics, and the measured transport spin polarization is systematically higher for (110)-oriented films than for (001)-oriented films, consistent with the crystallographic anisotropy of the spin-split bands. These results are consistent with altermagnetic behavior in RuO$_2$, with the experimentally accessible signatures confined to near-surface regions. They also establish superconducting transport spectroscopy as a metrology for identifying and characterizing altermagnet candidates.