Signature of topological Hall effect in layered FePd₂Te₂ ferromagnet

Van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials offer a flexible platform for exploring low-dimensional spin-dependent transport. FePd₂Te₂ (FPT) is a layered ferromagnet with a Curie temperature of ∼185 K, whose magnetic anisotropy and domain structure give rise to rich Hall responses. Here, by measuring the Hall effect as a function of the magnetic field rotation angle, we observe an unconventional anomalous Hall effect with two clear plateaus near the in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OOP) field directions, characteristic of an anisotropy-driven spin–reorientation process. Notably, within a narrow angular range close to the IP configuration, a pronounced hump-like Hall signal emerges. Temperature-dependent measurements at this optimal angle further uncover a distinct thermal window in which the hump amplitude is maximized. Remarkably, a similar angle- and temperature-selective hump is also observed in a much thicker FPT flake, showing that this effect is robust against a several-fold change in thickness and making extrinsic multi-domain or domain-wall mechanisms unlikely. Taken together with bulk magnetization data and tests of multi-channel anomalous Hall scenarios, these results are most consistently explained by a topological Hall effect arising from chiral or noncoplanar spin textures stabilized during the field-driven spin reorientation. Our findings identify FPT as a promising vdW platform exhibiting robust signatures of emergent topological transport and offer new possibilities for engineering spin-based functionalities in layered magnetic heterostructures.