A phaser array was a weapon comprised of a linear arrangement of numerous phaser emitters located in strategic areas of a starship, space station, or other vessel. They replaced the Phaser banks of the 23rd Century. Phasers were the most common and standard directed energy weapon in the arsenal of Starfleet. Most phasers were classified as particle weapons and fired nadion particle beams.

Based on the intensity and field of the beam and a variety of adjustments, a wide variety of effects could be achieved. They could stun, heat, kill, or disintegrate living creatures. Phasers could damage shields or other systems or even cut through a hull. Phasers could also be used to cut through walls and burrow through rock. The beam could be focused to a single spot or widened to impact a large area.

By the 24th century, Starfleet began to fit its vessels and facilities with phaser arrays that spanned across the ship's hull and contained much larger numbers of emitters; these were often called "Phaser strips." The arrays aboard a Galaxy-class starship could channel vast energy in a short time frame, capable of cutting through a mile of solid granite in seconds.

During the firing sequence of some ship-mounted arrays, phaser energies would travel along the emitter strip and converge at the best position for targeting.