Searching the many papers reporting on the optical characteristics of tin oxide thin films, an obvious question arises: what is the origin of the very large differences in the reported optical and electrical properties of these films? The objective of the present work is to resolve this question by applying a modeling approach, simulating the refractive index of SnO, SnO(2), SnO + SnO(2), and porous tin oxide films in the visible range of the spectrum under various structure and composition conditions. Using the semi-empirical model of Wemple and DiDomenico for the dielectric function below the interband absorption edge of ionic and covalent solids, and the effective-medium theory of Bruggeman, the refractive indices of SnO. SnO(2), several mixtures of SnO and SnO(2) and various porous tin oxide films were calculated. The resulting data are compared with some published data to suggest the compositional and structural characteristics of the reported oxides. The correlation between the optical properties of the studied thin films and film composition is also indicated. It is proposed that the large spread in reported optical data is possibly a spread in the composition of the samples. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.