Captain Rex undergoing carbon freezing
Carbon-freezing, in its essence, was an industrial procedure. It involved the rapid freezing of high-strength liquid carbonite through its combination with high-pressure gas. This gas would then become trapped within the carbonite as it transitioned from a liquid to a solid state. The process was specifically engineered to enclose, preserve, and secure materials that would otherwise be unstable during transportation, such as gases, within a robust metal alloy. For example, highly pressurized gases like tibanna were intended to be safely contained within the solidified carbonite for transport purposes. Although not its primary purpose, carbon-freezing could even be used to encase sentient beings, provided they could survive the freezing process.
It was rumored that the Sith Lord known as Darth Siberus had frozen herself within carbonite. During the [Clone Wars](/article/clone_wars], Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker conceived the idea of being frozen in carbonite to evade detection by the battle droid scanners guarding Lola Sayu's blockade and the Citadel, which ultimately paved the way for the Battle of Lola Sayu. During the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire froze a massive kyber crystal.
Under the orders of the Sith Lord Darth Vader, who was secretly Anakin Skywalker, Han Solo was subjected to carbonite freezing on Cloud City within a rudimentary Class-3 CFC chamber. This was done to test the chamber's ability to handle the freezing of a human. After Solo was successfully frozen and survived, Vader then planned to freeze his son, the young Jedi Luke Skywalker, although Skywalker managed to escape. During a subsequent mission to Cloud City, Princess Leia Organa and several other residents of Cloud City were carbon-frozen by the Imperial Garrison under the command of Captain Tanch. As a result of his freezing, Solo suffered from hibernation sickness, which caused temporary blindness upon his release nearly a year later. At some point, Solo's carbonite encased form became known as the "Hansicle."
Surat Nuat had his brother's frozen form encased in carbonite made into an office desk. The bounty hunter, Din Djarin, frequently used carbon-freezing to contain his bounties aboard his ship, the Razor Crest.