The invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium which comprises at least one compound of the formula I,

##STR00001##

in which
R.sup.1, R.sup.1*, Z.sup.1, Z.sup.2 and L.sup.1-3 have the meanings defined herein,
and to the use thereof for an active-matrix display, in particular based on the VA, PSA, PS-VA, PALC, FFS, PS-FFS, PS-IPS or IPS effect.

The invention relates to a liquid-crystalline medium which comprises at least one compound of the formula I,

##STR00001## in which R.sup.1, R.sup.1*, Z.sup.1, Z.sup.2 and L.sup.1-3 have the meanings defined herein, and to the use thereof for an active-matrix display, in particular based on the VA, PSA, PS-VA, PALC, FFS, PS-FFS, PS-IPS or IPS effect.

Heteroaromatic isothiocyanates of formula N ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.N, A.sup.N1, A.sup.N2, Z.sup.N1, Z.sup.N2, W, X.sup.1, X.sup.2, and n are as defined herein can be used in liquid crystalline media. Liquid-crystalline media comprising one or more compounds of formula N are suitable for use in high-frequency components, especially microwave components for high-frequency devices, such as devices for shifting the phase of microwaves, tunable filters, tunable metamaterial structures, and electronic beam steering antennas, e.g., phased array antennas.

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a compound with which a liquid crystal composition having a high T.sub.ni, a large n, a low V.sub.th, a large .sub.r, and a small tan .sub.iso and having good storability at low temperatures can be provided, a liquid crystal composition, and a liquid crystal display element, a sensor, a liquid crystal lens, optical communication equipment, and an antenna made using it. Specifically, the liquid crystal composition is one that contains one or two or more types of compounds represented by general formula (i), which have an indane structure and an isothiocyanate group (NCS), and one or two or more types of compounds represented by general formula (ii), which have an isothiocyanate group (NCS).