The first weapon that we could call a true lightsaber were created by the Tython Jedi sometime during the Duinuogwuin Contention (sometime around 15,500 BBY). They were extremely unstable and drained energy from their belt-mounted battery packs at a prodigious rate, thus leading to their use more as ceremonial items than true weapons. By 7,000 BBY, the stability problem was largely solved, but the energy drain was still a very prominent issue in the use of the early sabers.

It wasn't until the Great Hyperspace War - sometime around 4,800 BBY - that the bulky power cord and external power pack were replaced by internal power components. The greatest advance in lightsaber technology also occurred around this time, with a superconductor being added which transferred the energy of the blade as it looped back into the hilt of the weapon into the energy cell; using this, the only time that power was actually expended was when the blade was broken, i.e. when the blade made contact with something. This allowed for much greater freedom and mobility in combat since lightsaber users were not limited by bulky power unit or battery. These superconductors allowed for increased maneuvering and flexibility in combat and made lightsabers far more lethal than before.