The role of the external boundary conditions of the nozzle surface on the azimuthal mode selection of impinging supersonic jets is demonstrated for the first time. Jets emanating from thin- and infinite-lipped nozzles at a nozzle pressure ratio of $3.4$ and plate spacing of $5.0D$, where $D$ is the nozzle exit diameter, are investigated using high resolution particle image velocimetry (PIV) and acoustic measurements. Proper orthogonal decomposition is applied to the PIV fields and a difference in dominant instability mode is found. To investigate possible explanations for the change in instability mode, additional nozzle external boundary conditions are investigated, including the addition of acoustic dampening foam. A difference in acoustic feedback path is suggested to be the cause for the change in dominant azimuthal modes between the flows. This is due to the thin-lip case containing a feedback path that is concluded to be closed exclusively by a reflection from the nozzle base surface, rather than directly to the nozzle lip. The ability of the flow to form a feedback path that maximises the impingement tone gain is discussed with consideration of the numerous acoustic feedback paths possible for the given nozzle external boundary conditions.
