A disrupter ray served the purpose of halting a droid's movement, ensuring no lasting harm occurred. This ray was capable of being emitted from a device held in one's hand.
In a preliminary version of the script for the prequel trilogy movie Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, General Tobler Ceel commands the soldiers of the Gungan Grand Army to deploy disrupter rays against the Armored Assault Tanks utilized by the Trade Federation throughout the Battle of Naboo.