  The ability to locally activate or generate quantum emitters in
two-dimensional materials is of major interest for the realization of
integrated quantum photonic devices. In particular, hexagonal boron nitride
(hBN) has recently been shown to allow a variety of techniques for obtaining
quantum emitters at desired locations. Here, we use cathodoluminescence (CL) to
monitor in situ the local activation of color centers by an electron beam in
hBN. We observe that the CL signal saturates at a given surface dose,
independently of the electron current density. Based on photoluminescence and
photon correlations, we show that the number of photoactive color centers is
proportional to the CL signal, and we estimate the maximum density of quantum
emitters that can be generated by our technique. Our results provide insights
about the activation mechanism and could help to optimize the controlled
generation of single photon sources in hexagonal boron nitride.
