  Ferroelectrics are essential in low-dimensional memory devices for multi-bit
storage and high-density integration. A polar structure is a necessary premise
for ferroelectricity, mainly existing in compounds. However, it is usually rare
in elemental materials, causing a lack of spontaneous electric polarization.
Here, we report an unexpected room-temperature ferroelectricity in few-chain Te
nanowires. Out-of-plane ferroelectric loops and domain reversal are observed by
piezoresponse force microscopy. Through density functional theory, we attribute
the ferroelectricity to the ion-displacement created by the interlayer
interaction between lone pair electrons. Ferroelectric polarization can induce
a strong field effect on the transport along the Te chain, supporting a
self-gated field-effect transistor. It enables a nonvolatile memory with high
in-plane mobility, zero supply voltage, multilevel resistive states, and a high
on/off ratio. Our work provides new opportunities for elemental ferroelectrics
with polar structures and paves a way towards applications such as low-power
dissipation electronics and computing-in-memory devices.
