  Atomic scale friction, an indispensable element of nanotechnology, requires a
direct access to, under actual growing shear stress, its successive live
phases: from static pinning, to depinning and transient evolution, eventually
ushering in steady state kinetic friction. Standard tip-based atomic force
microscopy generally addresses the steady state, but the prior intermediate
steps are much less explored. Here we present an experimental and simulation
approach, where an oscillatory shear force of increasing amplitude leads to a
one-shot investigation of all these successive aspects. Demonstration with
controlled gold nanocontacts sliding on graphite uncovers phenomena that bridge
the gap between initial depinning and large speed sliding, of potential
relevance for atomic scale time and magnitude dependent rheology.
