  Josephson junctions containing ferromagnetic materials exhibit interesting
physics and show promise as circuit elements for superconducting logic and
memory. For memory applications, the properties of the junction should be
controllable by changing the magnetic configuration inside the junction. To
achieve good magnetic switching properties, one should choose a soft magnetic
material such as NiFe (permalloy); however, NiFe exhibits poor supercurrent
transmission in Josephson junctions. In this work we put thin layers of Ni on
either side of the NiFe and characterize the magnetic behavior and supercurrent
transmission properties of the Ni/NiFe/Ni trilayers as a function of Ni and
NiFe thicknesses. Using a Ni thickness of 0.4 nm, we find that the magnetic
switching behavior of the trilayers is not severely degraded relative to plain
NiFe, while the maximum supercurrent in the $\pi$-state of the trilayer
Josephson junctions is increased by a factor of four relative to that of NiFe
junctions. We speculate that the supercurrent enhancement is due to the
different spin-dependent transport properties of the Cu/Ni and Cu/NiFe
interfaces.
