A carbon-freezing chamber served the purpose of encasing both objects and, in some instances, living beings within carbonite. Situated on the gas giant of Bespin, the floating city of Cloud City featured gas-processing vanes, each of which housed a carbon-freeze chamber. These chambers utilized a combination of carbonite and tibanna gas, extracted from Bespin, to rapidly preserve items or individuals through flash-freezing. Certain spacecraft, including Slave I and the Razor Crest, were equipped with these chambers in their cargo areas.
During the era of the Clone Wars, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, along with his master Obi-Wan Kenobi, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and their squad of clone troopers, underwent carbonite encasement within the confines of the Jedi Temple. This tactic allowed them to discreetly bypass the defense fleet of Lola Sayu and infiltrate the high-security prison known as the Citadel, with the objective of rescuing Jedi Master Even Piell and Captain Wilhuff Tarkin.
Following the Battle of Hoth, the Galactic Empire utilized a Figg and Associates Class-3 CFC situated in Cloud City to freeze the Rebel smuggler Han Solo. Subsequently, his carbonite-encased form was delivered to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Darth Vader later attempted to trap Luke Skywalker in carbonite, having previously tested the procedure on Solo, but his efforts proved unsuccessful. With the Empire's occupation of Bespin, the practice of freezing prisoners in carbonite, as initiated by Vader, became more widespread.
During the return mission to Cloud City, Leia Organa herself experienced carbonite freezing. However, she, along with numerous other encased prisoners, was liberated when Skywalker employed the Force to activate the thawing mechanisms.