Plating apparatus and method for electroplating wafer

A plating apparatus for electroplating a wafer, comprising:

• an inlet for receiving a carrier solution;
• an anode over the inlet, the anode comprising plating atoms for chemically reacting with the carrier solution to produce plating ions;
• and
• an ion shield over the anode, wherein:
• a first aperture is defined within the ion shield at a first location,
• a second aperture is defined within the ion shield at a second location different than the first location, and
• a first area of the ion shield removed to form the first aperture is greater than a second area of the ion shield removed to form the second aperture.

A method for plating a wafer, comprising:

• directing a carrier solution to an anode in a plating chamber to produce plating ions;
• directing a first flow of the plating ions towards a center portion of the wafer;
• and
• directing a second flow of the plating ions towards edge portions of the wafer, wherein a rate of the first flow is greater than a rate of the second flow.