  Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 compounds are recently predicted to be
3-dimentional (3D) strong topological insulators. In this paper, based on
ab-initio calculations, we study in detail the topological nature and the
surface states of this family compounds. The penetration depth and the
spin-resolved Fermi surfaces of the surface states will be analyzed. We will
also present an procedure, from which highly accurate effective Hamiltonian can
be constructed, based on projected atomic Wannier functions (which keep the
symmetries of the systems). Such Hamiltonian can be used to study the
semi-infinite systems or slab type supercells efficiently. Finally, we discuss
the 3D topological phase transition in Sb2(Te1-xSex)3 alloy system.
