text: the invention will now be further elucidated by a detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the invention , in conjunction with the drawings , in which the same reference numerals are used to indicate similar features or elements in different figures . referring now to fig1 a through 1 c , there is illustrated a low profile inductor component 10 of the invention , mounted on a circuit board 11 . the component 10 includes a composite ferrite core made up of a lower “ e ” core 13 , so named for the e - shape resulting from the upstanding portions 14 , 15 and 16 on the base portion 12 , and a top “ i ” core 17 , having a planar configuration . arranged in the spaces between the upstanding portions 14 , 15 and 16 of the core is a winding body 18 , having a central aperture consisting of a stack of winding layers , each layer being made up of a polyimide substrate 19 , and an electrically conductive winding pattern 20 . filling the spaces between the turns of continuous conductive track 20 of the winding pattern and binding the stack into a dense , rigid body is a binder / filler material such as an epoxy 21 . as best seen in fig1 b , at least a terminal portion of the conductive track 20 in each layer extends into the outer sidewall 22 of winding body 18 , where they are interconnected by means of a metal pattern , eg ., electroless plated metal contacts 23 - 34 covering the ends of the tracks 20 in the outer sidewall 22 and extending partially onto the upper and lower surfaces of the body 10 . one such contact 23 is shown in the fig1 b , while the remaining contacts 24 through 34 are shown in fig1 c . these plated contacts 23 - 34 also are used for external connection to the winding body 18 . additional plated contacts 35 a - 35 e and 36 a - 36 e are located on the inner sidewall 4 defining the aperture of body 18 adjacent the end walls 5 and 6 of center leg 15 of core 13 . these contacts also serve to interconnect the winding layers , as well as to provide external connections . preferably , all layers contain an identical pattern of contact pads 40 - 57 around the inner and outer periphery of the winding layers , as shown in fig2 of which only two in each layer are used to provide interconnection to other layers . the remaining pads provide structural support to prevent deformation of the layers during pressing and curing of the filler material to densify and rigidify the stack during manufacturing . the space “ d ” between the end walls 5 , 6 of core center leg 15 and the inner sidewalls 4 of the winding body 18 contains a dielectric potting compound 37 , which may also be epoxy , and which fixes the space d , thus preventing creep and insuring against electrical discharges between the coil and the core . the layers of insulating material and winding patterns may be conveniently provided by starting with a sheet of commercially available flex foil , consisting of a 1 mil thick polyimide sheet supporting a copper foil approximately 4 to 5 mils thick . if the desired thickness of copper is not readily available , additional copper may be deposited , for example , by electroplating , to build up the layer to the desired thickness . the compactness and rigidity of the final structure enables such thicknesses , which in turn enables formation of conductive tracks having a sufficient cross section to carry the current needed for high power applications . the winding patterns made up of the conductive tracks are formed by selectively etching the foil to remove the unwanted portions of the copper layer . fig2 shows such a flex foil sheet containing two exemplary sets , of sixteen winding patterns , one set for a first inductor , and a second set for a second inductor . the individual winding layers are then cut from the sheet , and assembled into a stack using the alignment holes “ h ” in the corners of the layers . in each of the two sets , the first 8 winding layers are stacked in the sequence 1 , 2 . . . 8 , after which the last 8 layers are rotated 180 degrees in the plane of the sheet as shown in fig2 before being stacked in the sequence 9 , 10 . . . 16 . prior to stacking , each winding layer is coated with a binding fluid , eg ., dipped in epoxy . after stacking , the binder - coated stack is pressed to remove excess liquid . ideally , only a very thin layer of binder should remain between the upper surfaces of the conductive tracks of the winding pattern and the lower surface of the insulating sheet above it , to insure maximum density of the stack . in the case of epoxy as the binder , the stack is then cured by heating to about 60 degrees c . for about 1 hour . as will be appreciated , an alternate assembly method would involve laying out the individual winding layers in each sheet in a manner so that the sheets could be stacked , and then densified as described above , and then the stack of sheets could be cut to form individual winding bodies . the resultant winding body is then machined to size , as a result of which the alignment holes are removed , and the input and output termini of the individual winding patterns are revealed in the sidewall of the body . contacts are then applied , eg , by electroless plating , to interconnect the winding patterns of individual layers , and to provide for external connection as well . plating contacts onto the exterior surface is much simpler to accomplish than internal via plating and soldering , and occupies little space , thus maintaining the desired density and low profile of the device . during machining , slots 38 and 39 are formed in two opposite sides of the winding body , of a dimension to accommodate outer legs 14 and 16 of the core body . the slots have dimensions and placement to result in a predetermined core - winding spacing d , thereby to insure a minimum distance between the interior contacts 35 and 36 and the end walls 5 and 6 of the core center leg 15 . as will be appreciated from studying fig1 c and 2 , in this embodiment each plated contact usually interconnects no more than two winding layers . these layers need not be directly adjacent to one another . the completed winding body is then placed between the upstanding legs of an “ e ” core , in a manner to maintain the required distance d between the core legs and the body , after which the upper “ i ” core is glued or clamped to the lower “ e ” core , and the spaces between the core and coil are filled with a potting compound , eg , epoxy . the completed circuit component may be mounted on a pc board as shown in fig1 a , for example , by inserting the core into a cut - out in the pc board , and then soldering the component input and output contacts to pads ( not shown ) on the pc board . due to the planarity and the low profile of the device including the contacts , as well as to the solder connections , significant areas of intimate contact exist between the component and the board , resulting in an enhancement of the conduction of heat from the component to the pc board . the invention has been necessarily described in terms of a limited number of embodiments and variations . other embodiments and variations of embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art , and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the appended claims . for example , while the core has been described herein as having a rectilinear shape resulting from the assembly of “ e ” and “ i ” sections , it could also have other shapes consistent with a planar structure , such as a cylindrical shape .