The effect of the nitrogen partial pressure on the deposition rate of nickel lines produced by laser‐induced chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) from nickel tetracarbonyl, Ni(CO)4, was investigated and discussed by Boughaba and Auvert on the basis of the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model valid for heterogeneous chemical reactions with competitive adsorption of reactant gases on the surface. From these experimental results, it can be demonstrated that the adsorption energy of nitrogen molecules on the nickel surface is negligible; as a result, it can be concluded that the residence time of nitrogen molecules as adspecies on the polycrystalline nickel surface is negligible, and the adsorption of nickel molecules on the nickel surface does not occur. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.