The planar optical integration of Talbot array illuminators is investi
gated. The fractional Talbot distances are calculated from the parabol
ic approximation of light propagation. In addition, we discuss distort
ions of the diffraction patterns caused by aberrations due to off-axis
light propagation and edge effects due to the finite size of the diff
raction gratings. Using computer simulations, we estimate the efficien
cy of array generation in terms of light concentration ability.