Photonic charges functioned as explosive devices capable of generating a burst of photons. Sometime in the period spanning from 44 BBY to 32 BBY, a group of thieves employed a photonic charge that was non-incendiary in an attempt to pilfer a diamond shipment. This occurred at a mining facility located on Codia I's second moon, a planet.
The fuel rod within the power core of the outpost was destroyed by the device. However, the resulting photonic burst interacted with the core's composition, which was largely comprised of solid accelerite. This interaction led to the creation of unusual radioactivity that suppressed the entire light spectrum throughout the outpost, causing the Defel miner Rosack Denahst to descend into madness. After Denahst had murdered all of the burglars, the Jedi Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, eventually used the Force to put the shattered fuel rod back together. This act ceased the radiation and restored Denahst's sanity. Approximately 0 BBY, many years later, Kenobi, while taking refuge in his home on Tatooine during a sandstorm, reflected on this incident and documented the charge in his journals.
Within the current Star Wars canon, the second issue of the comic series Star Wars: Obi-Wan featured photonic charges. Christopher Cantwell wrote the issue, Luke Ross provided the illustrations, and it was released on June 29, 2022. The charges were first introduced in the Star Wars Legends continuity, specifically in the 2013 novel The Last Jedi, authored by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff.