Patent ID: 8201318

Claim:
A method of manufacturing an inductor, the method comprising: a lamination step of forming a laminate having a plurality of chips each including a coil body enclosed in an insulating body including a plurality of insulating layers and a pair of external electrodes that are connected to opposed ends of the coil body, the external electrodes being exposed from the insulating body; a division step of dividing the laminate formed in the lamination step into the plurality of chips; and a firing step of firing each chip formed in the division step; wherein the lamination step includes: a first process of forming, using a conductive paste, a conductor pattern for the coil body on a first insulating layer of the plurality of the insulating layers and an external electrode pattern for the external electrodes in a side portion of the first insulating layer by one of a printing process and a photolithography process; and a second process of forming, using an insulating paste, a second insulating layer of the plurality of insulating layers including a viahole enabling the conductor pattern to be inspected therethrough and a cutout portion that is continuous with the external electrode pattern by one of a printing process and a photolithography process; repeating the first and second processes to form the plurality of chips each including the coil body formed of the conductor pattern and the viahole, and a pair of external electrodes formed of the external electrode pattern and a conductor filled in the cutout portion; in the first process of the lamination step, the external electrode pattern has an L shape and is formed in each of two corner portions of the side portion of the first insulating layer; and in the second process of the lamination step, the cutout portion has substantially the same shape as the external electrode pattern and is formed in each of two corner portions of one side portion of the second insulating layer corresponding to the two corner portions of the side portion of the first insulating layer.