A disrupter ray was used to immobilize a droid without doing it any permanent damage. The ray could be fired from a handheld device.
In the revised rough draft of the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, General Tobler Ceel] orders the Gungan Grand Army to use disrupter rays against the Armored Assault Tanks of the Trade Federation during the Battle of Naboo.
- Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide