The fluid mechanics and operating characteristics of bearings that sup
port rotating surfaces in micromachines are different from their large
r cousins. The present study analyzes microbearings represented as an
eccentric cylinder rotating in a stationary housing. The flow Reynolds
number is assumed small, the clearance between shaft and housing is n
ot small relative to the overall bearing dimensions, and there is slip
at the walls due to non-continuum effects. The two-dimensional govern
ing equations are written in terms of the streamfunction in bipolar co
ordinates and an infinite-series solution is obtained. For high values
of the eccentricity and low slip factors the flow may develop a recir
culation region. The force and torque on the load-bearing inner cylind
er increase with increasing eccentricity and decrease with increasing
slip.